This festive Beetroot Herb Tabbouleh salad is beautiful to look at, vegan and doesn’t take much work. I like to bake the beetroot with the skin on and when it’s done it’s quick and easy to peel. However, if you don’t have time, you can also use the pre-cooked and vacuum-packed beets from the supermarket. With its earthy flavor of heart-friendly vegetables, this tabbouleh is a delicious addition to your meal. Beetroot will take center stage among all the fresh herbs and add a pop of color to your next cookout with this gorgeous pink salad. Yes, in pink, or did you want it in a different color? 😉
Do you sometimes need a side dish up your sleeve when you neglected to think about it at dinner? Here’s a side dish that just looks fun and festive, and even tastes good. With this Israeli couscous salad, no one will ever guess how easy it was to make. Just bake some beets or buy pre-cooked beets from the grocery store, mix them together with quick scalded couscous, lemon juice and aromatic fresh herbs.
Try making this couscous salad with a particularly fun type of couscous. This Israeli giant couscous is called “Pearl” (“Pearl”). It is characterized by its larger grains and a slightly chewy texture. Made with wheat flour or semolina, this couscous has a fairly neutral taste, but only up to the point of hitting the other flavors and ingredients.
And when you then mix it with baked or boiled beets, it turns a bright pink color that will instantly brighten up your table.
What is needed for the Beetroot Herb Tabbouleh?
- Couscous: You can also substitute quinoa, bulgur, or millet for the couscous.
- Beetroot: Baked or boiled for a natural sweetness and of course, most importantly, the juice for that bright pink couscous colour.
- Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice: The acid in the lemon juice reacts with the beets to make the color even more vibrant. Try to use fresh lemons as that gives the best flavor.
- Herbs: Parsley and mint, always fresh, that’s the best way to taste them. Combinations with other herbs such as dill, chervil, ….
more salad recipes with baked vegetables:
- Hasselback Beetroot with Cilantro Pesto
- spicy beetroot and carrot curry
- Fall salad with quinoa and seasonal vegetables
- Potato salad with coriander pesto
- Potato goulash with paprika – quick and cheap
- more salad recipes…
Beetroot Herb Tabbouleh – vegan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 150 G Couscous*
- 1 lemon
- 25 ml native olive oil*
- 150 G fresh beetroot or cooked beets
- 1 Red pepper
- 2 spring onions
- 1 small bunch parsley
- 1 small bunch of mint
- kosher salt*
- Black pepper* from the mill
Instructions
Prepare beets:
- Preheat the oven to around 220°C.
- Wash the beetroot and place in a casserole dish or grill pan. Fill about 2 cm with water and cover well with aluminum foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 1½ – 2 hours.
- Remove from the oven and discard the water.
- When the beet has cooled down a bit, you can peel off the skin. It works a little better if you briefly hold the beets under cold water.
- Cut the beetroot into small cubes (0.5 cm).
Salad:
- Put the couscous in a bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil and pour over 150 ml of boiling water. Cover and leave to swell for 5 minutes, then fluff up a little with a fork.
- Wash the lemon in hot water and dry it. Grate the lemon zest with the fine side of the kitchen grater. Halve and squeeze the lemon. Mix the remaining olive oil with the lemon juice and zest into the couscous.
- Wash the peppers, halve, deseed and cut into small cubes like the beets.
- Wash the spring onions and cut into fine rings.
- Rinse the parsley and mint, shake dry and chop.
- Mix the beetroot, spring onion rings, paprika and chopped herbs into the couscous.
- Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Leave the salad in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Taste again before serving.
