An Herb Salad of Sorts

This past spring my friend Helen and I taught a "Cooking with Herbs" class.  Together we discussed growing herbs in the garden, how to use herbs in the kitchen and explored their different flavors. One of the recipes Helen made was a "free-form tabouleh" which was made up of loads of parsley and mint and just a handful of bulgar. I fell in love with the "herbiness" of it.  It left my mouth feeling so fresh and clean!

I forgot about the recipe until I was packing up for the beach this weekend.  We were running behind on schedule so I quickly ran out and clipped a large bunch of parsley and mint, wrapped it in a towel and we were on our way.

Turns out I didn't have bulgar (or even quinoa which would have worked too) but that didn't stop me from making it but with just the herbs. A herb salad of sorts.

It was just as delicious and I served it for breakfast with a hard boiled egg, a piece of salmon, some olives and a homegrown tomato.

It would be flavorful atop almost anything....fish, chicken, tofu, eggs, inside a wrap, tacos, dipped with chips......

Other herbs such as cilantro, dill, oregano and basil could be used and added as well.

I used both curly and flat leaf parsley in my salad. Both are growing well in my garden this year.

I used lots of lemon which added to it's fresh, summery flavor.

Oh and it only gets better as it sits and marinates!

I'll leave you with Helen's recipe or you can omit the bulgar like I did for a straight up herb salad.

Free-Form Tabouleh

Parsley and mint 4:1 ratio
A handful of bulgar wheat
Olive oil
Lemon juice (and zest if you like)
Salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne

Cook bulgar. While still warm pour in a little lemon juice and olive oil.
Wash and dry parsley and mint.
Strip leaves from stem.
Chop herbs fine and place in large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.
Mix together all ingredients.

Enjoy!