Tuesday 9 August 2011

Barley Tabbouleh, Merguez, Feta Dip

I may never use bulgur wheat for a tabbouleh again (Paul is VERY AMUSED because on one of Rick Stein's programs he mocked the Australian pronunciation of tabbouleh, so this is now a salad I can write about but not talk about).

It's a version of another Yotam Ottolenghi recipe, using pearl barley instead of the bulgur. I didn't make the marinated feta, because I was going to serve the feta in another guise, I used hazelnuts instead of cashews, because they were cheaper, and I added some sauteed broad beans because they wanted using and I didn't have a green pepper.

The flavours were excellent. The barley is chewy and nutty, but not the same hard work bulgur can sometimes be.

The salad married beautifully with little barbecued merguez patties, made from Scarpetta Dolcetto's recipe and the feta & lemon dip from Jo at Food Junkie, Not Junk Food. I used basil instead of thyme in the dip because my basil plant is prolific at the moment!

This whole meal was a delicious tour around Middle Eastern/Mediterranean flavours. Nothing staggeringly authentic, but all authentically delicious.


10 comments:

Lila Leeds said...

That looks lovely, But what's wrong with ta'booleigh?

Beth (jamandcream) said...

It looks delicious- great flavours.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Lila - apparently we should say tuhbooLEY.

Beth - thanks!

Anonymous said...

// Nothing staggeringly authentic, but all authentically delicious. //

And that's what counts.

Cheers!

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

I love the barley idea in the tabbouleh salad. YUM! Great flavors, looks like a delicious meal.

kat said...

What an interesting take on tabbuleh.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Steve - it is! Thanks. Slainte.

Andrea - it would kick arse with some of your chicken Kapoma! I have that bookmarked to make.

Kat - it's nice to see a twist, isn't it?

wildtomato said...

I've made many a barley risotto, but never a barley tabbouleh. I'll have to give it a shot.

Deb in Hawaii said...

This looks like my favorite kind of meal. ;-)

Alicia Foodycat said...

Wild tomato - I've eaten barley risotto but never made one!

Deb - I love this sort of nibbly mezze plate too.

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