Tabbouleh + A Mezze Party w/Kale & Caramel + Probably This.
It's Wednesday, no it's Thursday, and I've finally settled into a routine, sorta. Vienna wakes me up at 5:30am for her breakfast, I then stumble back into bed, where she lets me sleep for another hour, hour and a half max. Then I zombie walk out of our new apartment to take her on her morning bathroom run. Does someone know how to break a dog's internal clock, or at least set it to a different time? I'm not very keen on a furry 5:30am wake up call every single day of the week/year. And if you think ignoring her is an option, forget about it. She used to just sit right by my face and watch me and breathe hard until I stirred, but now she just licks me and jumps on my face. Also, is she a cat? Idk... Anyway, I've been breaking in the kitchen here and there. Moses and I are trying to organize and knoll all our things into place. And Lily came over for takeaway tacos and wine the other night for a little sneak peak dinner last weekend; we had to find a way to thank her for helping us pack up our old place (still finding more ways--although I feel tacos definitely say thank you). It's finally starting to feel like home.
Meanwhile, despite the crazy state of our place, thanks to this moving business, I pulled together a quick tabbouleh to bring to Lily's house for a little mezze party. It was inspired by one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles, Marrouch, as Moses and I were kinda regulars when we lived in Silver Lake. And now that we've moved, it's a little further than we want to travel on a regular basis, so I thought I better figure out how to make it the way I like it, stat. Anyway, this dish was supposed to be accompanied by some lovely, pillowy, flatbread, but I ran out of time and maybe energy (the move has been taxing guys), and grabbed some pita from Whole Foods instead. But enough about me and my move, I should probably tell you about our little party!
I love this crazy, awesome network of bloggers we have here on the world wide web. I'm constantly blown away by the talent, humility, and pure magic that the interwebs house. So many of my real life friends have been found thanks to the power of the blogging world and this little mezze party is an example of just that. You probably know by now, but Matt and Beau aka Probably This., were in town last week!! It's hard to believe that they've only been blogging for a year or so 'cuz they're kinda crushing the blogging game. They whipped up a Spicy Baba Ganoush and Pomegranate Tzatziki in their Airbnb, whilst on vacation, for our party! Talk about hero status. And then Lily made green tahini hummus and feta & cucumber salad with some amazing Seed + Mill products, as well as some jasmine spritzers, olives, and some crudite. It was pretty much a dream of a day and Lily even let me bring Vienna!
I should probably know this by now, but one should never come to a mezze party hungry. And I of course rolled in famished. So I snuck little bites here and there when no one was looking and spilled a little bit of tabbouleh when plating and *accidentally* dropped a piece of pita while I was grilling them. Whoops. And the guys and Lily *pretended* not to notice any of this, or maybe I'm a real ninja and they didn't. I'm a huge fan of everything that made it on to the platter, except for the olives, and I have to tell you that the best bite is comprised of a bit of each of the dishes. Scoop a little hummus, some tzatziki, a bit of tabbouleh, and a touch of baba ganoush onto a slice of grilled pita bread (sprinkled with a bit of Seed + Mill's sesame & salt blend) and get ready for magic. And then let's not forget about the epic Seed + Mill halva platter that happened. Think sea salt dark chocolate, rose oil, chia seed, pistachio, coconut, and ginger halva, yes those are all halva flavors. And that doesn't even cover all the flavors they make that we didn't try, like marzipan (omg!), cardamom, figs, and coffee. I'm def gonna have to order some stat. Basically, while I arrived hungry, I left full of food and memories. You already know how much I adore Lily, but the guys of Probably This., well they're absolutely crush worthy too!
INGREDIENTS
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
3 large garlic cloves, finely minced
1 c. bulgur (cracked wheat)
1 c. water
2-3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
2 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley, about 2-3 bunches, (stems chopped off)
1/2 c. green onions, about 1 bunch, sliced
1 c. chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. all-spice, to taste*
Salt and pepper, to taste
TOOLS
Medium saucepan
Wooden spoon
Sharp knife
Mixing bowl
FIX
In a small bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, and garlic and set aside.
Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan and add bulgur. Reduce temperature to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the bulgur is tender and the water is absorbed. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Mix in tomatoes, parsley, green onions, and mint. Add the oil mixture and toss to blend. Season with all-spice, salt, and pepper. Let stand for at least 30 minutes.
Note: Can be made 1 day ahead (cover and store in refrigerator.
* I once read that Ottolenghi adds all-spice to his tabbouleh, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. In my opinion, it's everything, but if you're not a fan, feel free to leave it out.