It looks like Tabouli
It smells like Tabouli,
Heck, it even tastes like Tabouli.
But this, my friends, is no ordinary tabouli! You see, it has no parsley.
So what’s that green stuff, I hear you say?
It’s kale! Glorious, raw, antioxidant-rich, superfood craze kale!
Get out of here!
I can hear all the Lebanese population ‘tsk tsk tsk’ me.
My Egyptian born mother is shaking her head in disapproval.
Can a tabouli be made without the main ingredient parsley? Why sure! Why not
I have a glut of kale at the moment and I’ve found it to be most delicious in its raw form, uncooked and vitamin rich, combined with lemon juice, olive oil and all the other tabouli necessities like bulgur, tomatoes and cucumber, it makes for one very tasty and nutritious lunch.
A while back, I was sent the above hilarious you tube vid for a laugh. Now, every time I open the cupboard and see bulgur staring back at me, I can’t help but do a little tabouli dance.
‘Tabouli, Ta Ta Tabouli, makes me shake, shake shake my booty’
Yes, you know you want to.
Ok, it’s nearly Friday and I’m feeling silly. So grab some kale, shock the Middle Eastern population, sing a little Tabouli jingle and shake your booty.
Kale Tabouli – Serves 2 as a side dish, or one very hungry person for lunch
- 5 stems kale
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 cucumbers
- 1/3 cup fine bulgur
- Small bunch of fresh mint
- 1-2 juicy lemon
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small clove garlic, finely minced.
- Sea salt to taste
Start by placing the dried bulgur to your salad bowl. Top with lemon juice and the olive oil. Leave it aside for 10 minutes until the bulgur has completely absorbed all the lemon juice and oil. Add minced garlic and season with salt.
Remove stalk from kale and only use the leafy part on top.
Remove the stalks completely from the kale. You only want to use the leaves in this recipe.
Finely chop the kale as small as you can get it so it resembles chopped herbs. Add it to the wet bulgur mix.
Dice tomatoes and cucumbers, and shred the mint. Add to the bowl.
Give it all a good toss, using your hands. Taste for seasoning.
Enjoy and boogie.
Gourmet Wog 
Shake your bum bum. LOL
I still have trouble with kale. I’m going to have to grow my own and try it young and see if that makes a difference. I want to shake my booty along with you.
Oh I’m shaking! I’m shaking!!
Yep, I’m sure the young leaves would certainly be less bitter, but the lemon juice certainly cuts through it
Maureen, you will like homegrown kale, the taste and texture are quite different from those at the market, especially if you harvest the young leaves
agree Norma, especially with the addition of lemon juice and garlic, it certainly cuts through the bitterness
This is going to be my lunch today…but since I don’t have bulgur I thought to substitute with quinoa 🙂 maybe not authentic but certainly delicious! Thank you for the inspiration!
definitely not authentic but equally as delicious indeed 🙂 Bon Appetit !
Ha… I’m going to have that song running around in my head all day now! I like the idea of using kale in place of parsley, although at the moment I’m overrun with parsley in the garden, so I might try using both…
oh I do too Sarah! Ta Ta Tabouli 🙂 Parsley and Kale would be a great combo!
I don’t have kale, but I do have a lot of chard, so maybe I’ll try that although like Sarah, my parsley is growing well at the moment. Maybe half and half.
why not! half parsley and half chard sounds wonderful 🙂
Good stuff Lisa! Great tucker that tabbouleh ..:)
Thanks Julie! Tasty too 🙂
A great recipe! I love kale and I really like how you only used a small clove of garlic. Sometimes tabouli is just too garlicky. And I love garlic!
Oh I don’t mind the garlic at all, the more the better for me! 😉
This was a fun post, Lisa, and I don’t think I’ll ever look at a bowl of tabouli again without hearing that sone. Too funny! I like that you’ve used kale here. You took a great dish and really elevated it. Thanks for sharing the recipe and the giggles. 😉
Oh John, I’ve had the song stuck in my head all day, it’s annoyingly funny!
I love this version with the kale 🙂
Thanks Tandy, it really is yum!
With the goodness of kale-I love it! I’d imagine that you still get the freshness of the parsley from the lemon? 😀
Thanks Lorraine! Yes, the lemon juice and other flavours totally hide the bitterness of raw kale!
Fantastic way to use kale, we love tabouli in our house. Plus my kale has all regrown now that the chickens can’t get into the garden. You can also remove the stalks from the kale by running your fingers from the base of the stem to the end that way you don’t miss a bit of that goodness. Similar to what you would do with rosemary to get the leaves.
ooh good tip, thanks Lizzie!! Good to hear the chooks no longer have access, more for you!!
Saw a bunch of kale on sale the other day and wondered if I can make them into chips but after reading your recipe, I have some new idea to enjoy kale now 😀
why not make both!! Crispy and cooked, then raw and nutritious!! Enjoy your bunch 🙂
What a great idea!!!. And what a scream Lisa I love that vid. I hope you play it while you are making Kale tabouli
You better believe it Tania, I’m always shaking my toosh in the kitchen 😉
A very pretty dish not to mention healthy and delicious. Still have kale, tomatoes and parsley in my garden, no more cucumber, but the farmer’s market is not too far away.
Thanks so much Norma, we’re just coming into cucumber and tomato season here in Sydney, I cant wait to harvest my own and make this again 🙂
Oh my goodness! That song is stuck in my head now! So funny, and I love the Arabic music and the dancing lady!!
Tambouli without parsley?! Gasp! Why not, looks delicious! And I like kale.
Nazneen
Hahaha Nazneen, I was still humming and singing it days after I watched it for the first time, it’s ridiculously funny!! Thanks for stopping by xx
Fantastic, Lisa! We are drowning in kale at the moment, having once again planted a few too many rows (though not complaining, we love it). Admittedly I may be the only Arab on earth who dislikes tabbouleh, because of the high parsley content. I could totally get behind this kale version!
Also, love the GoRemy vid. I grew up in the same neighborhood as his family – when I saw his name a few years ago on those videos I thought, hey! I went to school with your sister! Funny where life takes us. He’s doing a great job 🙂
You don’t like tabouli?!! What type of Arab are of Yasmeen?!! Haha I joke, I joke! xx Yep, I’m sure you’re going to love this version then, the lemon juice cuts through the bitterness of the raw kale and it’s quite delicious indeed 🙂
I love that you know his family! Such a small world indeed 🙂
Loved the video. That’s a great idea for kale. From looking at it, it certainly doesn’t appear that this tabouli is any different from the parsley version. I’d love to try this xx
Thanks Charlie! Not that different at all!!
I would love to give this a try. It is on my list as my kale has had a growth spurt and I have never used it previously (very late to the party I know!)
never too late!! It’s a great introduction to raw kale, especially when you grown your own 🙂
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