Tabbouleh recipes come in all different forms. We love this one with its blending of Middle-Eastern cultural flavours: a blended and creamy tahini dressing enhanced with roasted garlic flavours and drizzled over an interesting ancient grain with fresh herbs. All totalled? Refreshingly chill as a main or a side dish.
Tips
- For a speedier dish, soak grains for a couple hours before cooking.
- If khorasan kernels are not available, substitute with wheat, rye, or spelt berries, or any type of gluten-free grain like buckwheat groats, millet, or quinoa.
Khorasan Tabbouleh Timbales with Roasted Garlic Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 head Russian garlic
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) tahini sauce
- 3 Tbsp (45 mL) lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp (1 mL) sea salt
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) smoked paprika
- 1 cup (250 mL) khorasan kernels
- 1 cup (250 mL) coarsely chopped fresh mint
- 1/2 English unpeeled cucumber, finely diced
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped parsley
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) pomegranate arils
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) pine nuts, toasted
Nutrition
Per serving:
- calories295
- protein10g
- fat14g
- saturated fat2g
- trans fat0g
- carbohydrates38g
- sugars5g
- fibre6g
- sodium126mg
Directions
01
Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Slice top from garlic to expose cloves and place in small baking dish. Add a little water to dish. Cover tightly and bake in oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until cloves are soft. Remove and slightly cool. Pop roasted cloves out of skins and place in high-speed blender along with tahini, lemon juice, oil, salt, and smoked paprika. Whirl to blend, adding water to thin sauce to pouring consistency. You should have about 2/3 cup (160 mL). Taste and add more seasonings if you wish.
02
While garlic is roasting, cook khorasan kernels. In saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, bring 2 1/4 cups (560 mL) water to a boil. Stir in kernels. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook kernels for 40 to 50 minutes, or until cooked as soft as you like. Drain any excess water and spread kernels out on towel-lined baking sheet to separate, cool, and slightly dry.
03
Transfer cooled kernels to large bowl. Fold in mint, cucumber, cilantro, parsley, and green onions. If shaping into timbales, stir in a little tahini sauce. Pack into moulds and turn out onto serving plates. Drizzle with remaining creamy tahini sauce and sprinkle with pomegranate arils and pine nuts.
Irene McGuinness is a writer, recipe developer, food stylist for numerous magazines and corporations, and alumna of the Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University
