My mom’s homemade humus and tabbouleh were two of my favorites for lunch as a kid. I always loved opening my lunch box at school and finding these two dishes in there. My friends also loved them and would ask for her to send them some too.
I did a version of her humus recipe last year if you’d like to check that one out, but tabbouleh has always been a bit of a struggle. Recently, I’ve been working on recreating my mom’s tabbouleh recipe and I think I’ve finally figured it out.
But what to pair it with?
Tabbouleh can be a bit bitter because of the parsley. Therefore I think this dish requires something sweet to go with it. How about a strawberry lemonade fizz?
The Drink:What you’ll need: 
- 1/2 cup of strawberries
- 1/2 cup of lemonade
- 1 cup of club soda or sparkling water
- 1 shot of white rum (optional).
Clean and hull the strawberries. Cut them into fourths and place them into a blender. Add in the lemonade and optional shot of rum. Blend until the strawberries have been well mixed with the liquid.
Pour into a glass and add in the club soda or sparkling water. Be careful as there can be a lot of foam. Enjoy while it’s still cold.
Level of Recommendation: It’s a sweet treat for a hot day.
The Food:Tabbouleh isn’t a hard dish to make, but it does require a lot of time and effort. I’d set aside at least an hour to make this wonderful salad.
What you’ll need: 
- 1/4 cup of wheat bulgur
- 1/4 cup of boiling water
- A large bunch of parsley
- 1/2 a large cucumber
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1/2 a lime
- A dash of dried mint
- A dash of salt
Start by boiling some water to soak the wheat bulgur. Allow the wheat bulgur to soak for at least an hour in a covered bowl before mixing with the rest of the ingredients.
Clean your parsley, cucumber, and tomatoes. Remove the leaves of the parsley plant and place in a food processor. Skin and slice the cucumber. Slice the tomatoes into long pieces to remove the seeds, then cut into slightly smaller chunks. Add the cucumber and tomatoes into the food processor.
Juice the half a lime and pour into the food processor. Add in the salt and dried mint. Process everything. You might need to occasionally mix things up to make sure everything gets finely chopped.
Mix the vegetables in with the wheat bulgur and allow to chill in the refrigerator.
Serve chilled.
The Pairing:
I think the sweet drink balances nicely with the slight bitterness of the salad. The citrus elements really tie the two together. It’s refreshing and yummy. I especially love the foam that forms in the drink. There might be a few chunks of strawberry floating around and they really absorb the alcohol if you add in the rum. The parsley can be a little bitter, but the cucumber, lime juice, and tomatoes combine nicely to create a lighter flavor.
Level of Recommendation: A light appetizer for an outdoor summer party!
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