Iraq Cuisine

The cuisine in Iraq is fascinating and lovely. According to Wikipedia the recipes go back over 10,000 years.

There are some delicious dishes, as well as stews and dips. But it’s the Tabbouleh salad that really appealed to me.

I originally found this recipe when researching recipes in the Iraq (as part of the country recipe challenge).

The beauty of this recipe is that is really unusual and very healthy. In addition it’s really easy to change the flavour by varying the type of mint you use (see below)

How to make Tabbouleh salad

Ingredients:

• 50g bulgur wheat
• 50g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 50g mint, chopped
• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 70 g pomegranate
• 1 lemon – for it’s juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Equipment

• 1 large saucepan with lid
• 1 large bowl

Instructions

1. Prepare the wheat

Put the bulgur wheat in a sieve and rinse with cold water. Pour 200 ml water into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then add the bulgur wheat. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes, leave to stand for 10 minutes before you can use it.

2. Prepare the herbs & vegetables

Chop the parsley and mint. Also chop the tomatoes and spring onions. Put all in a large bowl.

3. Finalise the Tabbouleh salad

Drain the bulgur wheat and add to the herbs & vegetables. Add the lemon juice and olive oil. And lastly add the pomegranate and mix well.

How to serve

In Iraq it is usually served as part of meze. This is a selection of small dishes served as an appetiser. A meze is a collection of dishes that can be hot or cold, spicy or savoury.

Fresh Tabbouleh salad is often served with small romaine lettuce leaves. Where you simple fill a leaf with the Tabbouleh salad and eat by hand.

Which mint to use in Tabbouleh Salad

The country recipe challenge.

This recipe is part of my country recipe challenge, where I am trying to find 1 recipe from each country in the world.

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