Tabbouleh - the perfect summer salad.

There is something about reaching august that makes me want to have little to do with the oven/stove area of the kitchen. I have gone through the heat of June and July without any effects on my desire to sauté or bake. But come august, I've had it. I no longer want to eat anything hot, I crave fresh brisk flavors. Maybe that's because in Miami, August is the muggiest of the three months of summer. Or maybe it's because salads and summer go so well together.

 
Either way, tabbouleh, a middle eastern salad, is a great dish to make if you are feeling the same effects of summer. It's brisk and refreshing flavor make it a perfect item to bring along on a picnic, or to eat standing up, straight from the bowl, after all the ingredients have been mixed.
You normally eat it along with hummus, and falafel, but it is also very tasty with a grilled white fish.

The mint in the salad really ties it all together, so please, if you have to skimp on an ingredient, don't do it to mint. And the salad takes not time at all to put together, so wait until you are ready to eat, so that you can have it fresh. Oh, and the really great thing about Tabbouleh is that it's full of parsley, a natural breath freshener. So don't worry about eating all that garlicky hummus. The tabbouleh will help you out.

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Tabbouleh
1-1/2 cups chopped parsley* (about one big bunch)
2 mint sprigs, chopped
1/2 tomato, diced
1/4 onion, diced
1/4 - 1/2 plain couscous or bulgur, cooked & cooled
2 Tbs good quality, fruity Extra Virgin Olive Oil
juice of 1-1/2 lemons
Salt & pepper to taste
In a big bowl, add the first four ingredients and mix. Mix in the olive oil and lemon juice. Then add the couscous/bulgur, a little at a time, until you get the right grain-green ration. I like mine just dotted with grain, but I have seen Tabbouleh with a lot of couscous in it. To each their own. Once you have achieved your desired result, salt and pepper to taste. And eat, because it's best when eaten fresh. Enjoy!
* As a child my mother always let me chop the parsley. She had a pretty good method, which was to put all the needed parsley in a cup, and cut it with a pair of kitchen scissors until it gets to the necessary range of chopped. Try it, it's kind of fun.