Tabouleh With A Greek Twist

I messed around with traditional tabbouleh and came up with this.

1 cup cracked wheat (you can buy it at a health food store)
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped or half as much dried basil
1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into little chunks
1-1 ½ cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half or thirds
3 green onions, chopped
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Soak cracked wheat in enough cold water to cover it and then some for several hours until soft. (All day or overnight might be good. Sometimes it takes a while…) Drain and press out excess water. Combine all ingredients, gently adding feta last.

To make traditional tabbouleh (without the Greek twist), you would leave out the feta and use fresh mint leaves instead of basil.

The amounts of the ingredients are rough estimates. I usually don’t measure anything. It’s helpful to taste as you go.