Paleo, ketogenic (low carb) and Whole30
I had never heard of tabbouleh until I followed a recipe in the Hemsley and Hemsley ‘the art of eating well’ cook book (which I have reviewed here). I didn’t even know what it was supposed to be made with, so I decided to consort good old google to find out.
Traditionally it’s a Middle Eastern dish that is made with bulgur, onion, tomatoes, mint and parsley and is considered to be a salad. The Levantine Arabic ‘Tabbule’ is derived from the Arabic word ‘Taabli’ meaning ‘seasoning’.
I found lots of different recipes including rice, bulgur wheat and couscous and I realized that it could be pretty much whatever I wanted it to be, but to keep it authentic I used the traditional ingredients with middle eastern seasoning.
Macros – 5 Servings
Total Carbs 8.9g
Fiber 3.2g
Net Carbs 5.7g
Protein 2.9g
Fat 7.7g
Kcals 106
Final note – I have tagged this recipe as Whole30 as its compliment with the whole 30 program. It is simple, unprocessed food with no added sugars, grains or legumes.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 5 | 15 |
| Cook Time |
| 10 |
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This light and fragrant tabbouleh is paleo friendly and low carb. It's got a sublet lemon flavour which is perfectly enhanced by the sumac. If you wanted to leave out the pistachios and pomegranate then you could easily sub with a sprinkling of chia seeds and a sliced fresh fig.
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- 400 grams Cauli Rice
- 30 grams Spring onion
- 80 grams Cucumber
- 70 grams Cherry tomatoes
- 3 TBSP Mint
- 1 1/2 TBSP Parsley
- 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 Tsp Sumac (Ground)
- 2 TBSP lemon juice
- 20 grams Pistachio Nuts Roasted and Chopped
- 40 grams Pomegranate
- 1/2 Tsp Pink Himalayan rock salt
- 1/2 Tsp Black pepper
- Add the cauliflower to a blender and blitz until its rice like.
- Pour the cauli-rice into a steamer with about 1/2 cup of water. Steam the cauli-rice on a low heat with the lid on for about 6 minutes. Keep an eye on it as too much water may make it boil over and too little water will dry out and burn the pan!
- When the rice has steamed turn off the heat, pour the cauli-rice into a sieve and allow to cool over a bowl (any excess moisture will drip into the bowl). Prepare the rest of the ingredients while it cools.
- Dice the cucumber, chop the tomatoes into quarters and chop the spring onion into small rings. Add to a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the lemon juice, the olive oil, salt , pepper, chopped mint and parsley to the cucumber salad and again, stir to combine.
- In a small pan roast the chopped pistachios until golden then place aside ready to sprinkle on top.
- Cut the pomegranate in half and facing downwards into a bowl squeeze the skin the tap hard to allow the seeds to fall into the bowl. Place aside ready to sprinkle on the top of the tabbouleh.
- Add the cooled cauli-rice to the salad mix and stir thoroughly to combine. Sprinkle the sumac on top (if you want more then use more - it gives a lemony taste to the dish).
- Plate up the tabbouleh, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the pomegranate and a sprinkling of the pistachio on top of each servings.
- The tabbouleh will last in the fridge for about 5 days. I kept the pomegranate and pistachios separately in small tubs, sprinkling over the top just before serving.
