Kale Tabbouleh

As promised, I am sharing with you all how I use up some of the amazing produce from my CSA.  Today I decided to use up some of the greens I got this week in a tabbouleh.  It breaks away from the familiar tabbouleh recipe, a Mediterranean herb and grain salad, without losing the familiar flavors you know and love.  The primary difference is that this recipe incorporates kale.

A tasty bowl of kale tabbouleh

Kale is one of those vegetables that a lot of people hadn’t even heard of until recently, when suddenly it was touted as a “superfood” and something we all should be eating.  Many people don’t like it, but force themselves to eat it out of a sense of obligation.  They blend it into smoothies so they don’t have to think about it.  Well this tabbouleh recipe is a great way to use the kale without actually “hiding it” – but still using it in a not-quite-traditional way.  Give it a try and see what you think!

This recipe is much easier to make if you have a food processor, so my instructions below assume that you do.  If you don’t have one, it’s time to break out the ole knife skills and get to work.  You will need to finely chop the herbs, scallions, and kale to teeny tiny pieces to get a true tabbouleh feel.

Eat this straight up as a salad; put it in pita bread with hummus and veggies; do whatever you like with it!

Kale Tabbouleh (makes about 4 cups)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup bulgur wheat
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup of parsley leaves, tightly packed
• 1/2 cup mint leaves, tightly packed
• 2 scallions, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch of kale, thick stems and ribs removed, leaves torn
• juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1.  Place the bulgur wheat and water into a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook, covered, for about 15 minutes or until tender.  Drain.

2.  While the bulgur is cooking, put the parsley, mint, scallions, and kale into a food processor.  Start by pulsing for a few seconds at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each pulse.  You don’t want the herbs on the bottom to get pulverized while those on top remain whole.  As it starts to come together, process for a few seconds until everything is coarsely chopped.  Transfer to a bowl.

3.  Add the drained bulgur to the greens.  Stir in lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to incorporate.  Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Yum!

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