Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is middle Eastern in origin but has become more and more popular in Europe etc. in recent years.  It can be made with either bulgar wheat or couscous but in this recipe I will be using a fine couscous.  The best one that I have come across is in Lidl, it's really fine.  There are many variants to this dish so there are no set rules, the ingredients can be altered according to what you like best or what you have available.  I make two versions with minor ingredient changes but which taste quite different. Version 2 is more spicey and contains cumin and red chilli pepper.

Ingredients (for a medium sized bowl)
1 x mug Couscous (or bulgar)
1 x mug boiling water
2 x cloves garlic
1 x small red pepper
1 x small green pepper
Half a lemon
Half a red onion
3 x medium vine tomatoes
1 large handful fresh corriander or mint (version 1)
1 large handful fresh parsley
Olive oil
Black pepper
Salt
4 x teaspoons Cumin (version 2)
1 x red chilli pepper (version 2)

First, get the couscous ready by pouring 1 x cup/mug full into a bowl and covering with the same amount of boiling water.  Cover the bowl with a plate while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Chop the tomatoes into small pieces (as small as you can) and do the same with the peppers, the red onion, and the herbs.  Crush the two garlic cloves.  For version 2 leave out the corriander/mint as you will instead be adding the cumin and chilli peppers.

When the couscous has absorbed all of the water, remove the lid and fork it to separate the grain and leave to cool.  When cold, add the chopped ingredients, squeeze on some lemon juice, add a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper.  If you are making version 2, this is where you add the cumin and the finely chopped chilli pepper.  Refridgerate for an hour or two or even better overnight to let the flavours infuse.  Serve with warm pitta or Naan bread with a side serving of Tzatziki or plain greek style natural yoghurt.  Yummy.