Tabbouleh with Apples, Walnuts and Pomegranates

This recipe by Michael Solomonov features the beauty and flavor of raw apples. The confounding thing about his recipe is that it doesn’t include any grains. Doesn’t tabbouleh need bulgur or some type of grain? According to my sources, yes, it does. So I added quinoa and made a few other tweaks (more apples, less parsley) that are given below. If it’s not pomegranate season where you live, substitute dried cranberries or just leave them out. It’s plenty delicious without any additional fruit.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

  • 1 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

  • 1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds or diced dried cranberries (optional)

  • 2 cups flavorful dessert apples, cored and diced

  • 1/2 cup red onion, diced

  • 1 - 2 tsp smoked paprika or diced chipotle chile pepper

  • 2 -3 Tbs honey

  • 1/4 cup lemon juice

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • coarse salt to taste

  • 1 cup walnuts

Directions:

  1. Add quinoa to 2 cups of boiling water. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to simmer, and cook until all the water has been absorbed, 15-20 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

  2. Mix together the parsley, pomegranate seeds/dried cranberries, apples and red onion in a medium bowl. Add the cooled quinoa and stir.

  3. In a small bowl combine the chipotle pepper/ smoked paprika, honey, lemon juice, and olive oil. Whisk to emulsify, and stir into the quinoa and apple mixture. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. (You don’t need to use all the dressing that this recipe makes. Save it to use later on a salad.)

  4. In a dry skillet toast the walnuts over medium heat. Keep watching them and stirring otherwise they will burn. Remove walnuts from the heat and stir with a pinch of salt. Crush them in a mortar and pestle or with the side of a knife til they are coarse pieces.

  5. Serve the tabbouleh at room temperature. Stir in the crushed, toasted walnuts just before serving.