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Quinoa Salad Recipe: Tabouli the "Super" Salad
A Recipe for Tabouli (Tabouleh), or Quinoa Salad
“Superfood” is a marketing buzz word used to describe foods with high nutrient or phytochemical content. But have you ever heard of a "Super" Salad? Tabouli definitely fits the description for a super salad. If there was ever a dish to stave off the common cold, this is the one. The main ingredients of parsley, lime juice and garlic all boast cold-fighting compounds.
The 4 ounces of lime juice that dress this salad contain approximately 60% of the RDA of Vitamin C for an adult. If you make authentic tabouli with 3 cups of chopped parsley, you’ll get another 320 mg of Vitamin C and 20,200 IU of Vitamin A. Both vitamins strengthen the body’s immune system. So why drink that glass of fizzy, artificially flavored Vitamin C when you can enjoy this lemony, garlicky salad instead?
Studies have shown that eating garlic, which contains allicin, reduces one’s risk of contracting a cold by 50%. Taking garlic after contracting a cold will help reduce its duration and severity. Quinoa, which replaces the bulgar wheat of traditional tabouli and therefore makes this a gluten-free salad, contains the amino acid lysine which is essential for tissue growth and repair.
One word of caution: pregnant women should not consume parsley as it contains a uterine stimulating compound that may induce premature labor. So are you ready to try this quick, delicious and easy-to-make Super Salad?
More Gluten-Free Recipes:
Tips
- Purchase the freshest produce available.
- If the tomatoes are very juicy, seed before chopping.
- This basic tabouli salad contains less parsley and more quinoa than the authentic recipe.
- Authentic tabouli is basically parsley salad with a sprinkling of bulgar wheat. To make an authentic and healthy salad, triple the parsley (3 cups chopped) and reduce the quinoa by half (1 ounce).
- It's easy to chop parsley in a food processor. Notice in the lead photo (above) the parsley has been machine-chopped, whereas the final photo (below) shows parsley roughly hand-chopped.
Tabouli Salad
Tabouli Salad
- 2.5 ounces (80 grams) quinoa
- 4 medium (about 1 lb.) tomatoes
- 1 medium cucumber, seeded
- 5 green onions
- large bunch (1 cup chopped) parsley
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1/2 cup Key lime or lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup olive oil, extra virgin
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
- Prepare the quinoa according to package directions, cooking it for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Finely chop the tomatoes, cucumber, green onions and parsley. It is best to use a food processor for this task, especially for chopping the parsley.
- In a blender or food processor container place the garlic, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, salt and mint leaves. Blend thoroughly.
- Combine the veggies and the cooled quinoa. Toss with the dressing.
- Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
- Tabouli is delicious served as a side salad with any meal.
- This salad is often enjoyed with garlicky hummus, smoky baba ganoush, whole grain pita bread and other Mediterranean favorites.
