That Translator Can Cook: Tabbouleh

A salad comprised of fresh minced herbs, tomatoes, onions, and bulgur drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.

Because I am only eight pounds away from my weight-loss goal and my new year resolution is to finally lose it all, I have chosen a nice, healthy salad that is beloved in Lebanon.

The health benefits of tabbouleh are immeasurable:

• Parsley: contains important nutrients and cancer-fighting substances, is rich in antioxidants and nutrients that protect your eyes, supports bone health, and may improve heart health.

• Mint: is rich in nutrients, may improve irritable bowel syndrome, may help relieve indigestion, could improve brain function, may decrease breastfeeding pain, subjectively improves cold symptoms, and may mask bad breath.

• Tomatoes: are rich in vitamins and minerals, improve skin and heart health, and may help prevent cancer.

• Onions: are packed with nutrients and antioxidants, may benefit heart health, contain cancer-fighting compounds, help control blood sugar, may boost bone density, have antibacterial properties, and may boost digestive health.

• Bulgur: is rich with nutrients, promotes heart health, supports healthy blood sugar control, supports digestion and gut health, and promotes weight loss.

• Olive Oil: is rich in healthy monosaturated fats; contains large amounts of antioxidants, which have cancer-fighting properties; has strong anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties; may help prevent strokes; protective against heart disease; isn’t associated with weight gain and obesity; may fight Alzheimer’s disease; may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes; and can help treat rheumatoid arthritis.

• Lemon Juice: supports heart health, helps control weight, prevents kidney stones, protects against anemia, reduces cancer risk, and improves digestive health.

Here is one way to make it! The recipe and pictures belong to Rawan Mousa (روان الموسى).

Ingredients

• 3 bunches of parsley

• 5 tomatoes

• 4 stalks of green onions

• Olive oil

• ½ cup of bulgur

• Salt and black pepper to taste

• Lemon juice

Steps

1. Wash and strain the bulgur well.

2. Add lemon juice to the bulgur and set it aside.

3. Finely mince the parsley and mint, and wash them. Put the parsley and mint into a large strainer, and strain the minced herbs for an hour.

4. Finely mince the tomatoes and onions. Put the parsley, mint, tomatoes, and onions all together in a bowl. Then, add the lemon and bulgur, and toss. Season with salt and pepper, and toss. Then, add the olive oil and toss.

5. Serve immediately on top of lettuce leaves.

Notes: Tabbouleh should not be seasoned except for immediately before serving, so that the vegetables don't exude water, wilt, and lose their freshness. You can soak the bulgur in lemon juice instead of water to double the flavor.

Translators’ Discussion:

1. I used “finely mince” because there was a lot of emphasis in the source text (with good reason, the herbs and vegetables do need to be minced into tiny little pieces): يفرم (الأكل) فرم ناعم. However, I realize that “finely mince” is a bit redundant, what do you all think?

2. I’ve noticed a curious thing when compiling these recipes: when referring to tomatoes, onions or the like, the authors use حبات (الخضار). In this case, it was حبات بندورة 5 (5 tomatoes), they could have just said 5 tomatoes, which makes me think the حبات was for emphasis, but I can’t quite tell what is being emphasized. Thoughts?