TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
TabouléFrench Couscous Salad
- Total
- 1 hr 3 min
- Difficulty
- ★☆☆☆☆
- Serves
- 4 servings
- Prep 55 min
- Cook 8 min
A cold French salad of couscous, tomatoes, onion and mint, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Separate the couscous grains so they absorb the vegetable juices and aromas.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
This is the standard recipe, exactly as it’s made where it comes from — the highest Authenticity Score possible. Substituting ingredients changes this score; the app shows exactly how, ingredient by ingredient.
Ingredients (4 servings)
100Authenticity- Plain precooked durum couscous140 gPlain, small-grained dried couscous. Do not use semolina flour or pearl couscous. Use small-grain, pre-cooked plain couscous, not pearl couscous.
- Water140 ml
- Ripe tomatoes300 gWeight after removing the stem ends. Use ripe tomatoes.
- Onion100 gWeight after peeling.
- Fresh spearmint leaves4 gWeight of the leaves. Use fresh spearmint leaves; a culinary spearmint plant can supply them.
- 100% lemon juice30 ml100% juice, freshly squeezed or unsweetened pure juice.
- Extra-virgin olive oil60 ml
- Salt2 g
- Ground black pepper0.5 g
Method
Chop the tomatoes and onion
- 1 Wash and stem the tomatoes, then cut into 1cm cubes. Reserve the juices released while cutting.
- 2 Peel the onion and mince finely.
- 3 Wash the mint, pat dry, pick off the leaves and chop finely.
Ready when
Continue when the vegetables and mint are cut and the tomato juices are reserved.
Hydrate the couscous with boiling water
- 1 Put the couscous in a heatproof bowl.
- 2 Bring 140ml water to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan, pour it over the couscous and stir.
- 3 Cover the bowl with a plate and leave off the heat for 5 minutes.
Ready when
Continue when the grains have absorbed the water and swollen, with no water left at the bottom.
Separate the grains and mix with the vegetables
- 1 Uncover and break up any clumps with a fork. Spread the couscous thinly in the bowl and allow about 10 minutes to cool.
- 2 Once it is no longer warm, add the tomatoes with their reserved juices, the onion and the mint.
- 3 Add 30ml lemon juice, 60ml olive oil, 2g salt and the black pepper, then fold together from the bottom.
Ready when
Continue when the couscous is free of clumps and the vegetables and dressing are evenly distributed.
Chill to let the flavors combine
- 1 Cover the bowl and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- 2 Once chilled throughout, gently mix from the bottom, portion onto plates and serve.
Ready when
The salad is ready when it is cold throughout.
About this dish
In summer, people in France take taboulé on picnics or serve it alongside grilled meat. This cold salad of couscous, tomatoes and mint is sometimes shared from a large bowl.
Picnics need not mean a trip to the countryside. In Paris, people bring food to park lawns and the banks of the Seine, eating outdoors within the city.
Lebanese tabbouleh puts parsley at the center and uses bulgur for the grain. In French households, preparations with a larger proportion of couscous have become widespread: salads with the same name take different forms at different tables.
Bring the full course home next weekend.
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