Healthy Tabbouleh Salad

Quinoa and Broccoli Tabbouleh salad in lettuce leave

A healthy alternative to the traditional tabbouleh salad. The original recipe contains bulgur wheat or cracked wheat which is delicious but some people can not tolerate gluten. Here is a gluten free tabbouleh salad that I made using quinoa and lots of fresh vegetables.

Why Tabbouleh Salad?

The Tabbouleh salad is a great way to enrich your diet with fibre. A variety or different vegetables in your diet is a great way to support a healthy digestion. You can try the recipe with different vegetables, or grains for variety. The core ingredients are bulgur, lots of parsley, mint, tomatoes, lemon juice, onions and olive oil. But this version is gluten free and is using quinoa and broccoli as a base. Another alternative grain that could be used is buckwheat which is nutrient rich and also gluten free ideal for those on an elimination diet, those with non coeliac gluten sensitivity or coeliac disease.

You could also do a grain free tabbouleh by using a vegetable such as cauliflower or courgettes as the base ingredient.

Where Does Tabbouleh Originate From?

Tabbouleh originates from the Middle East Lebanon and Syria are countries where it is part of the every day diet.

A similar salad is made in Turkey called kısır and quite invariably uses more spices and chilli depending on the region where it is made.

Ingredients For Quinoa Tabbouleh:

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/4 diced cucumber

2 small carrots diced

3 spring onions sliced

1 tomato chopped

1/4 bunch fresh parsley chopped

1 small avocado

1/4 head of broccoli chopped

Leaves from 3-4 sprigs of fresh mint or 1/2 tablespoon dry mint

Juice of 1 lemon

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper

Whole lettuce leaves

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together. Serve with lettuce leaves.

Quinoa and Broccoli Tabbouleh served in lettuce leaves with tomato & baby sweetcorn