Festive Tabouleh and fresh baked Naan bread

With the end of Ramadan just having come to a close, I was inspired to move into a Middle Eastern cooking phase. Get ready for a month or two of tasty Arabic inspired dishes! Middle Eastern cooking has a delightful variety of colorful and flavorful ingredients like fresh mint and parsley, lemon, chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, olive oil, and yogurt just to name a few! When eating Arabic and Middle Eastern cuisine, get ready for tasty and healthy food combinations that your mouth is sure to appreciate! My first recipe is a tasty tabouleh salad made with wheat bulgur and is delicious served with fresh naan bread!

Have on hand to prepare the tabouleh the following ingredients:
- 2  to 3 lebanese cucumbers (chopped)
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1/2 a cup shredded local market carrots
- 1 can of organic chick peas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup of finely chopped (fresh market)parsley
- 1/4 cup of finely sliced green onions or chives
- 1 cup of uncooked wheat bulgur (organic)
To marinate the cooked bulgur you wil need:
- 1/4 cup finely chopped mint (fresh tastes best!) or dried mint
- 1/4 cup olive oil (good quality is best)
- juice of half a fresh lemon
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed/minced

STEP 1: In a mixing bowl, add 1 cup of uncooked bulgur wheat, a 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt and 1 cup and a 1/2 of boiling water. Leave to cook(soak) for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

STEP 2: Add to the cooled and now cooked bulgur, the chopped mint, the olive oil, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and the crushed garlic. Mix well with a wooden spoon so that all ingredients are tossed together. Cover and leave to marinate the bulgur  for 1 hour minimum. Leave for 2- 3 hours to refrigerate if you can.

STEP 3: About an hour before you want to eat the tabouleh, start the dough for Naan Bread (see recipe for Butter Chicken, coming soon).

STEP 4: Take the covered and marinated tabouleh out of the fridge. Add in the chopped cucumbers, chopped tomato, parsley, carrot, chives/green onion, chick peas, and some fresh cubes of feta and nice olives if you have these on hand. Serve immediately with fresh dollaps of yogurt, freshly grated ground pepper and your freshly baked naan bread!