A totally inauthentic but delicious tabbouleh recipe!

Another delicious family recipe handed down from my wonderful mama. Mum was the most wonderful home cook and is directly responsible for my love of food. She was without a doubt my biggest inspiration, teacher and mentor. Dear Fig would not existent without her passing her cooking talent and passion onto me. She herself also learnt everything she knew from her mother, my grandmother, who was one of the first commercially employed female chef's in Australia. I started this little place on the internet so I could try and capture what she taught me, and what I have learned along the way and pass it onto my daughters. I am hoping they inherit our family love of cooking and in turn pass it onto their kids....but if you are reading this girls no pressure!!!!

If I had to pick, I would say mum's favourite type of food to cook was Middle Eastern. I definitely got my love of garlic and lemon from her! I actually have very clear memories of not liking her tabbouleh recipe when I was a kid as it was too garlicky! Funny because I have now heard that few times about mine! How things change. I looooooooooove garlic and make no apologies for how much I use! It's proven to be good for you right?

So to be clear, this recipe is heavy on the garlic. Feel free to reduce the amount.......if you must! The trick is to first cream the garlic into a paste with salt and olive oil before adding it to the salad as it takes away the intense raw flavour and turns it into something truly magical. Not just for tabbouleh, but for pretty much any recipe that calls for raw garlic; hummus, mayo, guacamole, pesto, salad dressings...this list goes on. I learnt this trick as a teenager and it's been a game changer! The amount of people who I have passed this onto is too many to count.

Obviously my love of garlic is not so great if you are on the FODMAP friendly diet, but don't worry I have included a great adaption for this recipe so you wont miss out! I promise I'll stop talking about garlic in a sec, but first I need to acknowledge that garlic is not actually traditionally an ingredient in tabbouleh. Watching me make this salad one day, my Lebanese friend was horrified by this addition. He explained that tabbouleh doesn't need garlic as it's usually served with other dishes heavy on garlic such as hummus. Ok so that makes sense.....but as previously mentioned I love garlic! And in this case the tabbouleh is served by itself so is totally justified!

Cucumber is also a big no no but I actually really love the texture it brings to the salad. Traditionally the salad is made from parsley, tomato bulgar wheat, lemon juice, olive oil, spring onion and maybe mint. I always use quinoa as I like the taste better plus its gluten free and so often I'm cooking for people who cant eat gluten. Garlic, cucumber, quinoa, avocado, goat's cheese......It's pretty obvious I've gone completely of track from the original version. So apologies to any traditionalists out there! I'm trying to be very clear this is not a traditional version! That being said, I think it still has the essence of the real thing; light, fresh and zesty.

I usually eat this salad as a main meal, maybe with a little pita or Turkish bread on the side or some extra pine nuts on top. I love simple, light and healthy meals for dinner and this one ticks all the boxes. It's got plant protein, carbs, lots of fibre and nutrients plus yummy healthy fats. If you want to make a simpler version or something that is closer to a traditional tabbouleh, just omit the avocado, goat's cheese and chilli. But still keep the garlic and cucumber! This version (pictured below) is perfect served with falafel, pita bread and dip.

Loaded Quinoa Tabbouleh with Avocado and Goat's Cheese

Prep time: 50 minutes

Serves: 4

Dietary guide: This recipe is gluten free and vegan if using plant based goat’s/feta cheese.

FODMAP friendly adaptation: Use only the green parts of the spring onion and replace the garlic with 1 teaspoon of garlic infused oil. Depending on how you tolerate tomatoes and avocado’s, you may need to reduce the amount (refer to the Monash App to be sure).

Ingredients

2 medium spring onions (also called green onion/scallion) thinly sliced

4 cups of Italian/flat parsley (can use curly if needed)

Handful each of of mint and dill

1/3 cup of white quinoa

3 tablespoons of lemon juice (pith strained)

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil*

2 cloves of garlic

3 large ripe tomatoes

1 Lebanese cucumber or ½ a continental cucumber

1 red chilli thinly sliced (de-seeded if you like it mild)

1 avocado (use 2 if you love them!)

100g of goat's cheese (cow or plant based) marinated in oil*

Salt and pepper

*I use the yummy oil from the marinated goat's cheese

Instructions

1.Bring the quinoa, 2 cups of cold water and a good pinch of salt to the boil over high heat. Turn down low and simmer for about 10 minutes of until the quinoa is nearly cooked (still retaining a bit of crunch). Strain the quinoa into a metal sieve, place the sieve with the quinoa in it back on top of the still hot pot and place a lid over the top. Leave for 15 minutes. The residual steam will continue to cook the quinoa whilst drying out any liquid so you will be left with perfectly fluffy and nice and dry quinoa. Set aside to cool.

2. Make sure all the herbs have been washed and well dried. Roughly chop the herbs and add to a large mixing bowl.

3. Cut the cucumber into 4 long ways. Remove most of the seeds with a knife or spoon and roughly chop the cucumber. Add to the herbs.

4. De-seed the tomatoes and chop into small bite sized pieces.

5. Prepare the garlic by “creaming it” - grind the garlic cloves and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt in a mortar and pestle until it forms a rough paste. If you don't have a mortar and pestle use the back of a dessert spoon and chopping board to cream the garlic. Add a teaspoon of the olive oil and mix until it combines. Transfer approximately 1 teaspoon of the garlic to the salad bowl.

6. Add the spring onions, cooled quinoa, lemon juice, oil, chilli, a good pinch of salt and cracked pepper to the salad bowl. Mix well. Taste and adjust for your taste – you might want to add the rest of the garlic or more lemon juice.

7. Peel and dice the avocados and add to the tabbouleh along with the crumbled goats cheese and gently toss (or you can present the avocado and cheese onto of the salad) . Transfer to 4 salads plates or one large serving bowl. Enjoy!