Inspired by... 6 : Couscous tabbouleh- vegan

Tabbouleh is a delicious addition to your picnic, barbecue or lunchbox

 I recently started following Katie's blog Little Miss Meat Free and pretty soon started feeling seriously inspired by her beautiful photographs and simple yet stylish approach to vegan food. (Take a look at the beautiful, lavish vegan tea party she put on for her lucky family!) Last Saturday she posted this recipe for tabbouleh, which straight away reminded me of my student days when you could buy it dehydrated in a packet, to which you just added water, oil and lemon juice. (I did learn to make it myself pretty soon though. Never did feel comfortable with packet "food".) I love it that she didn't bother with onions, too- their flavour in tabbouleh tends to drown our everything else. After reading the post, I went downstairs to cook lunch and guess what? I made tabbouleh and flatbreads to go with a soup of tomato, veg and yuba sticks* and a green, olive-y salad. Traditionally, tabbouleh is made with bulgar (cracked) wheat, but- as Katie suggests- couscous is a good substitute. Come to think of it, you could even use quinoa if you need it to be gluten free. The main change I made to Katie's recipe was to add some torn mint leaves because: 1: I didn't have quite enough flat-leaved parsley and 2: I love mint and the first tabbouleh I remember had dried mint in it.

*Beancurd- or dried tofu skin 

We teamed it up with our flatbreads (and added powdered coriander seed to the dough for extra Middle Eastern ambience)

So here's my recipe, and thank you to Katie for the inspiration! (Serves 6-8):

300g organic wholegrain couscous

10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved

3-4 tabs fresh flat-leaved parsley

2 rounded tabs dried parsley

a handful of fresh mint leaves (optional)

1 tsp seasalt

1 tsp cracked black pepper

3 tabs extra virgin olive oil

3-4 tabs lemon juice

lemon wedges to garnish (optional)

• Soak the couscous in enough hot water to cover it plus about 1cm. Top it up if it gets absorbed before the grains have softened.
• Meanwhile, chop the parsley and tear the mint if using. Have the cherry tomatoes.
• When the couscous is soft and has absorbed all the water, throw on the herbs, tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Tip: Try making this quinoa instead of couscous or bulgar if you want a gluten free version.