Tabouleh

[doubleohfive]

Growing up in a Lebanese-American family, I was of course exposed to the amazing range of Mediterranean cuisine throughout my life. One of my favorites has always been tabouleh salad.

Today for lunch we went to Zankou's Chicken and I made the quite excellent choice of getting some tabouleh salad... and I am loving it, remembering my dad chopping away in the kitchen, parsley, tomatoes, onions, mint... on a sunny Saturday in the summer, and then asking us (the kids) to taste-test. Is it too lemony? Is it too oily? More salt or less?

Good times.

Have you ever had tabouleh? Or is there a dish that you eat often that brings you good cheer, reminding you of happy memories?

 

[gturner]

I love tabbouleh, but the dish that reminds me of happy memories is fresh brains and intestines, which I gorged on the night we overran the hospital and police station.

 

[Canadave]

Never had tabouleh, as I'm not much of a salad person. As an Ottawan, though, I do love a good shawarma.

The dish that does it for me is my mom's salmon loaf... it's kind of like meat loaf (only with salmon, obviously) and it was one of my favourite meals growing up. She still makes it frequently when I visit home, too.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Don't like Tabouleh. When I go to the local middle eastern place for some shawerma I ask them to substitute salad for the tabouleh.

 

[Canadave]

^ There no option for potatoes? They're a staple of most shawarma joints here.

 

[gturner]

Wouldn't potatoes be a bit non-traditional?

 

[Venardhi]

I love the stuff, make huge batches of it at home every couple months and just feast on it for days. I generally go with more greens than most people though, lots of cucumber, onions, garlic, bell peppers, pine nuts or shreded almonds, and occasionally adding meat(like crumbled bacon and/or turkey meatballs) to make it a proper meal.

 

[Aurian]

I love it. Never tried making it at home though since everyone in my family are a bit afraid of mixing too many ingredients into their foods.
Tabouleh with chicken.. mmmmm

 

[mari]

Mmm, tabbouleh... now I want some... I love Mediterranean food in general. The flavors seem more sophisticated than what I grew up eating.

That said, I could also really go for some homemade pierogis and fresh kielbasa right now. I'm partly Polish/Russian/Ukrainian, so that's my comfort food.

 

[Holdfast]

Tabouleh's OK, I guess, but not a particular stand-out favourite of mine.

I don't think I have a specific comfort food, though do have a general preference for hot & sludgy stuff if I want something vaguely heartwarming - soups, stews, currys, etc, etc. A good roast dinner always makes me think of Sunday family lunch, so I suppose that's the closest I'd get to a specific "good memory" sort of food.

 

[propita]

While tabouleh's great, what's REALLY great is Zankou's chicken with that garlicky paste!!!

Mmmmmm!

You have excellent taste in places to eat, though I've only been to the Pasadena one myself. Pretty spartan interior when I was last there, years ago, but I was there for the food, not the ambiance.

 

[Canadave]

Wouldn't potatoes be a bit non-traditional?

Not so far as I know. They're spiced and served with a big glob garlic sauce, and all the Lebanese places around here serve 'em. They look like this, and I've never seen potatoes prepared quite the same way in non-Lebanese places.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I love tabouleh.

Shawarma, on the other hand, is completely surpassed in popularity by döner kebab here, to the point that most people wouldn't even know what it is.

 

[Kira's Mom]

I love tabouleh. I haven't made it myself in ages, but the local Lebanese restaurant makes really good stuff!

Homemade mac and cheese- not the Kraft stuff!- always makes me think of good family times. Especially if I made it.

 

[KimMH]

Love Tabouleh! Mint and tomatoes - who'd have thunk it'd be so delish?

Mom's a Polish Princess and I love that stuff with potatoes and sauerkraut and kielbasa. We don't have a name for it - it's just the Polish casserole. It sounds horrid - I guess you had to grow up with it. It makes an appearance at every family holiday.

My hubs' family makes green bean casserole for all their holiday gatherings. I'd never had it until I met him. Love it now and make it as a main dish for supper sometimes.

 

[gturner]

For dinner I had tabouleh and shawarma. I was stuffed before I got to the tabouleh, so I took it home. I can report that my bunnies love it, even though they don't care for normal salads (they prefer chicken wings).

 

[TheSeeker]

Wouldn't potatoes be a bit non-traditional?

Not so far as I know. They're spiced and served with a big glob garlic sauce, and all the Lebanese places around here serve 'em. They look like this, and I've never seen potatoes prepared quite the same way in non-Lebanese places.

I spent a week in Beirut a few years ago and the Shawarma I got there were all made with potatoes.

 

[Canadave]

^ Thanks for the confirmation. I figured as much, given that all the shawarma joints in this town are run by Lebanese people, but having never been to Lebanon, it was hard to say for sure.