Tabbouleh Salad…A Culinary Trip Around The World

I love to try new foods, and a quinoa tabbouleh salad would certainly qualify as a new food to me! I saw the recipe on the back of a bag of Simply Nature organic quinoa I bought at my local Aldi grocery store. Now let me just say this blog post of mine was NOT sponsored by either Aldi or Simply Nature. (But if either company reads this and wants to talk…I’m all ears!)

It just so happens almost every ingredient I put into this salad came from Aldi. I shop there. A lot. And I LOVE the quality and variety of foods they offer, including the Simply Nature line of products.

When it comes to summer salads…do you ever feel like I do? Are you in a rut with the same old potato salads and pasta salads? That’s why I decided to shake things up and try a recipe that finds it’s roots halfway around the world.

Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern vegetarian dish made with various types of ancient grains along with many vegetables and herbs. And some recipes add feta cheese and Kalamata olives. I followed the recipe on the bag of Simply Nature Quinoa, and that’s the recipe I’ll share with you here. But the next time I make it (and there WILL be a next time!) I’ll be adding even more veggies, including onions. And I’ll add more feta cheese since the salty, tangy cheese added a great depth and dimension to the salad. And instead of using water, I wish I had cooked the quinoa in some of the delicious broth I made from the stems of the big box of shitake mushrooms I recently scored! I simmered those mushroom stems with some herbs and spices and veggies…and then I strained off the glorious broth that resulted from the long, slow simmer…

And the beautiful results?

Three containers of this amber colored broth are now waiting in my freezer to add another layer of flavor and depth to any dish I choose…and I think this Tabbouleh Salad would benefit from some of that delicious broth.

I cooked the quinoa in water with a pinch of salt as directed…and allowed it to cool completely in the refrigerator. Then I added all the other ingredients and allowed the flavors to marry and continue to chill in the refrigerator. 

Now here is my new favorite substitute for those same-old same-old summer salads…

I feel like I’ve traveled halfway around the world without a passport…and without leaving my kitchen!