Tabouleh: The Flexible Food

The parsley-intense version: I didn't like my first encounter with tabouleh because it was mostly bulghur wheat and tasted more healthy than good. Then I discovered a version that was heavy on the parsley and light on bulghur. Much better in my book. More of a refreshing salad. Tabouleh has an added benefit. Because it's parve and cold, I can use it anytime--even as a potluck dish if I'm socializing in a non-kosher home and want something I can eat. I don't use a precise recipe for this. Tabouleh basically consists of parsley and bulghur as the main ingredients; scallions, tomatoes, and mint as the grace notes; and olive oil and lemon or lime as a dressing. You can also add other elements, notably cucumbers. I like it at least three parts parsley to one part of bulghur. Curly parsley works better than Italian parsley for this dish. Make sure you wash it well and inspect for insects--and use a kosher bulghur like Red Mill.