Stylish Eats: Alisa's Tabbouleh

At the beach yesterday, while I was enjoying my very healthy lunch of Trader Joe's chocolate chip cookies, uber-fabulous friend Alisa pulled out a stainless steel tin and wooden spoon out of her chic Lululemon yoga bag and proceeded to taunt us with the most gorgeous and tasty homemade tabbouleh.  (Yes, with Alisa, even her food is more stylish than that of mere mortals like me.)

I'm not usually a huge fan of tabbouleh, but Alisa's version is fresh, summery, and crisp . . . as perfect with a side of chocolate chip cookies at a beach picnic as with a flute of champagne at a fancy brunch.

I asked her to share her stylish tabbouleh with us on this blog.

Here's what she had to say about how she came up with this beautiful and simple recipe:

This recipe is adapted from Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet. I accidently bought cilantro instead of parsley, which was what the original recipe called for. Instead of freaking out as I usually would (okay, I freaked out for a little bit) I decided to go with it and then added a few other yummy things in my kitchen. It's a much milder flavor than traditional tabbouleh and that's what I really like about it.

Alisa's Tabbouleh

Ingredients:

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup bulgur wheat
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 scallions, white and green parts minced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes
• 1/2 cup walnuts toasted and chopped
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes sliced in half

Bring 1 1/2 cups of water and the salt to a boil in a saucepan. Place the bulgur and boiling salted water in a heatproof bowl. Stir once, then cover the bowl with a plate and set aside until the grain has absorbed all the water, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice, oil, cilantro, scallions, radishes, walnuts, and tomatoes and mix well. Add more lemon juice and salt to taste.