Um, yeah, so it’s snowing again. It’s late March and it’s snowing. But I can’t stop believing that someday, one day, soon, we will have an actual spring. With picnics, and potlucks, and get togethers. And outside. Playgrounds. Running, jumping outside of my house….that’s not a dream is it? We will be able to leave the house, won’t we?
Of course, I always think of spring food as asparagus and peas and strawberries, but we’re still a few months away from that. Early spring means rich dark greens, radishes, and spring onions.
So I’m making the most of it before we get into the asparagus and peas and strawberries. Tabbouleh is traditionally a mid-summer dish with fresh, ripe tomatoes and cucumbers, and I love to bring it to picnics and potlucks then. But I thought I’d spring it up a bit and replace the tomatoes with radishes and some of the herbs with kale.
It’s a fairly easy dish that you can make ahead and bring to your next spring outing.
I use a mixture of traditional ingredients like parsley and mint that are pretty easy to find this year. But I add in kale, chopped as finely as the parsley and then wilted in the microwave to lose some of the bitterness. And radishes chopped small so they add flavor and texture without overwhelming.
Ingredients
- 2 cups bulgur
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2-3 cups chopped kale
- 1-2 cup chopped parsley (1 bunch is about 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup chopped mint
- 1/4 cup finely diced shallot
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cucumber, seeded and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 1 bunch radishes, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (the good kind)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, pour the boiling water over the bulgur. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for an hour.
- Meanwhile, steam the kale. I do this in the microwave: dampen 2 paper towels and lay them on a microwave safe plate. Top with chopped kale. Lay another 2 dampened paper towels on top of the kale. Microwave for 2 minutes. Check the kale. If it's not completely wilted, microwave for another minute. Set aside and allow to cool.
- Combine the remaining ingredients in a very large bowl. Toss in the bulgur and kale. Mix until combined.
- Allow to stand for an hour or so to let the flavors combine. This keeps great in the fridge for 3-4 days.
