a prominent item in Near Eastern mezze, is best described as a refreshing salad of parsley, tomato, and burghul (cracked wheat) with spring onion and mint plus oil, lemon juice and seasoning (and any of several optional ingredients such as ground cinnamon and allspice). The proportions vary from place to place, and from family to family, some preferring a mixture which is almost purely green, others liking a greater proportion of tomato and burghul.
Anissa Helou (1994), describing its preparation in the Lebanon (widely perceived as its original home territory), emphasizes that the herbs should be chopped by hand, with a very sharp knife, not in a food processor (which would risk making them mushy). Tabbouleh is to be served with inner Cos lettuce (or young vine or white cabbage) leaves, with which it is scooped up to be eaten.
A comparable but different Turkish dish, kısır, is a golden, not green, mixture of burghul with tomato and onion etc.; it is usual to dress it with pomegranate juice and add paprika instead of cinnamon. (Thus, although they have sometimes been confused in western countries, the differences between kısır and tabbouleh are considerable.)
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Helou, Anissa (1994), Lebanese Cuisine, London: Grub Street.
