Tabbouleh with pomegranate

This tabbouleh with pomegranate is a simple variation on the wonderfully bright Middle Eastern salad, packed with herbs, lemon and tomato. It's fantastically fresh, light and delicious.

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For many years, I have had a thing about tabbouleh and fattoush salads. I love the fresh flavors and they go so well with all the other mezze dishes they are often served with like hummus, baba ghanoush, pita bread and falafel, amongst others.

I remember when we were in Jordan, I think I probably ate it daily. Other trips in the region have been similar and I love making it at home, too. The classics of both salads are, of course, fantastic, but I enjoy making variations, too, like my winter fattoush. This variation on tabbouleh with pomegranate is only a slight change, but the addition adds a lovely punch of color and flavor.

Pomegranate: a local favorite

Pomegranates have deep ties to the Levant region, where tabbouleh is also from. It's originally from the Middle East and while the first recorded evidence of cultivation goes back to 2000 BCE, it's believed to date back further. It's a fruit that has held a lot of symbolism in various cultures - the ancient Egyptians saw it as a symbol or prosperity, and has been one of the most sacred plants in Iran.

In modern days, it's still a highly appreciated fruit in the Middle East, whether to eat fresh, squeeze into juice, use as pomegranate molasses or to cook with. The popular Turkish salad kisir, uses pomegranate molasses in the dressing, and Persian fesenjan stew has it in the rich sauce.

While tabbouleh doesn't traditionally have pomegranate in there, it may be added as a garnish. So it's no great leap to incorporate it in the salad itself. And the sweet-tart juiciness works so well with everything else.

Keys to an authentic tabbouleh

Most times I have had tabbouleh in the US, it seems to be pretty grain-heavy which is not at all how I had it in Jordan and have always made myself. Tabbouleh, to me, is all about the fresh herbs - think of them like the greens in many other salads. The bulgur is more of a secondary addition to add texture.

The other key thing about tabbouleh is the size of the bulgur wheat. You should make this with a fine bulgar which, as you can see below, is even finer than couscous. As a result, you don't need to cook it as such. Instead, just let it absorb hot water, much as you would with couscous.

This finer bulgur is unfortunately a little harder to find. The kind you find in most stores is coarser with larger grains that need more of a cook. While they're still tasty and make a great grain salad, they both take a bit more effort and take over that bit more in this. So I highly recommend getting fine couscous - it is available online, if you can't find it locally.

The last thing is use good, fresh ingredients - squeeze your own lemon juice, use good tomatoes and herbs as you will taste the difference.

How to make pomegranate tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is very easy to make, with the only real task being a decent amount of chopping. You need to dice up the tomatoes and cucumber as well as roughly chop parsley and mint. You can do a fair bit of that while the bulgur wheat soaks to plump up.

Then mix it all together along with plenty lemon juice and olive oil, and that's it. You can use some pomegranate molasses in place of some of the lemon, if you like. It has a more sweet-tart flavor and adds that bit more of the pomegranate flavor. Though the fresh arils make themselves known and work well without the molasses, too.

While a classic tabbouleh might often be seen as a summer dish, pomegranates are more of an autumn-winter fruit. To me, this is a dish that can work any time of year - it's a nice way to add some freshness in winter, adding some lightness to a buffet, for example. The flavors work with Mediterranean dishes and much more.

This tabbouleh with pomegranate is a fresh, tasty side salad that will brighten up any meal. Easy to make, it's a slight twist on a classic with those bright fruity bursts that pair perfectly with the lemon and oil dressing and add little jewels to an already wonderful dish.

Looking for more dishes to make a mezze meal? Try these:

• Warm dishes like roasted eggplant with tahini and spinach fatayer (filled pastries)
• Dips like labneh (strained yogurt) and baba ghanoush (eggplant, a firm favorite)
• Cold dishes like dolma (stuffed grape leaves)
• I also love kibbeh and falafel, and am looking forward to trying this kibbeh recipe from The Mediterranean Dish and these falafel from Tori Avery.
• Plus get more ideas in the Israeli and Middle Eastern recipes archives. 

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

This recipe was first shared in March 2017 and has been updated, primarily with new photos along with a couple recipe tweaks.

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