Mediterranean is one of my favorite cuisines and now that I have celiac, it’s so much harder to find safe gluten-free Mediterranean food. I have always loved tabbouleh, a traditional Lebanese salad made from parsley, bulgar wheat, tomato, lemon, olive oil, etc. It’s delicious! I started making this tabbouleh-inspired salad about 6 years ago for my mom who found out about her celiac diagnosis almost 10 years ago. It’s so fresh, summery and flavorful. I switched the bulgar for quinoa, used a bit less parsley, and added cucumber. I didn’t use fresh mint in this version as is used in traditional tabbouleh, but I will try it out next time I make this salad! Tabbouleh usually has quite a bit of fresh squeezed lemon and the day I made this, I didn’t have a lemon so I went with just olive oil for the dressing and it turned out wonderful. I might prefer it without the lemon even though I love lemon. Feel free to add a squeeze of lemon if you’d like, or try it both ways! I love the fresh savory flavor of the salad without the tang of citrus. Also, tabbouleh doesn’t usually contain feta cheese but I topped my salad with a little sprinkling of feta and it was SO delicious! A wonderful addition. Without the feta, this salad is dairy-free/vegan. We ate this salad for dinner with smoked chicken, peas from our garden, and sautéd bell peppers.
Quinoa Tabbouleh
1/2 cup dried GF quinoa
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 of an English cucumber quartered and sliced
good olive oil
crumbled feta cheese for topping (optional)
Boil the quinoa in 1 cup water and kosher salt to taste. Once it comes to a boil, cover, turn to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Let the quinoa sit uncovered for a few minutes after it has finished to cool to room temp. Chop the veggies while the quinoa cooks. After it has cooled, put it into a mixing bowl, spread it out, add the cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions and parsley. Drizzle with a healthy drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of kosher salt, and stir well. If the salad doesn’t look quite moistened enough after stirring, add a little bit more olive oil. Top with a sprinkle of feta cheese.
