THE TABBOULEH CONTROVERSY.

Byline: Anne Marie Weiss-Armush Dallas Morning News

Tabbouleh, the unique salad of fresh parsley, bulghur wheat and green onions, is one of the most familiar Arab dishes in the United States.

It's gaining ground on Middle Eastern and natural foods menus and even in supermarket salad bars.

Having enjoyed tabbouleh for years in the homes of Syrian and Lebanese friends, as well as across the Arab world, I was curious to learn the secret of perfect tabbouleh from experts.

Not surprisingly, the varying opinions reflect the character of the Middle East itself, in that each person considers himself or herself to be the sole custodian of cultural heritage. And each is certain his or hers is the one, the only authentic tabbouleh. It's a lot like Americans and potato salad.

"The secret is to add a handful of fresh chopped mint," confides Joumana Bendak, who arrived from Lebanon as a young bride three years ago.

Yousef Sukkar, the Syrian owner of Worldwide Food in Dallas, says you must soak the "burghol wheat in fresh lemon juice, along with dried red pepper from Alleppo." Burghol is the common name for bulghur in Middle Eastern stores and restaurants.

Sukkar is such a tabbouleh enthusiast that he won't let me taste the prepared salad in his deli's cooler. Instead, he pulls out fresh ingredients to make a new batch. Then he adds: "It will taste even better tomorrow, when the flavors have blended."

Well, maybe.

"Never wait! You must eat it immediately after you prepare it!" protests Suzanne Tasabahji, also from Syria.

"Let it sit for exactly half an hour before you eat it, and be sure it contains an abundance of tomatoes," says Aida Tabarra, from Beirut.

Bilal Itani, a Lebanese who taught his American wife the traditional way of preparing the dish, disagrees. "Too many tomatoes will unbalance the flavor," he says.

Sukkar says, "When we Syrians invite Lebanese over, they always make a joke about the scarcity of tomatoes, saying 'What's going on? Are tomatoes too expensive?' So we add some more just to please our guests."

It is clear that each cook follows techniques and recipes passed down for generations.

But the principal ingredients of this Syrian/Lebanese staple remain unchallenged. A perfect tabbouleh must include fluffy morsels of bulghur wheat tossed in a penetrating minty lemon dressing with bits of juicy ripe tomatoes and finely minced parsley.

In the Middle East, the parsley is a flat-leafed variety like that found in some finer supermarkets. Usually labeled Italian parsley, it is especially tender and has an intense fresh flavor and aroma. Because it can be expensive and difficult to find, authorities usually substitute the American curly-leafed parsley.

Mincing the parsley into the desired 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch particles used to take a long time. Consequently, in the more elegant areas of Damascus and Beirut and in the wealthy cities of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf states, supermarkets stock bags of finely minced fresh Italian parsley.

But American parsley offers one distinct advantage over the traditional type: Its tougher leaves can be minced - with care - in the food processor.

"My mother and my mother-in-law are horrified at the thought of trading their heavy cutting boards and mincing blades for a machine," says Bendak. "But the truth is that nobody will notice the difference."

"Unless they get a piece of machine-chopped parsley stuck in their teeth because it's too big!" rebuts Itani, a friend of her husband.

To mince the parsley in the food processor, rinse and dry it carefully. Pinch off the bunches of green leaves, leaving the stiff branches on the stem. Fill the bowl of your machine lightly with the leaves and briefly pulse. Instead of packing in a large quantity of parsley, it is better to repeat this step two or three times until all the parsley is minced.

Unless you have conscientiously removed every bit of stem before processing, a few noticeable lengths will remain. Remove these, and your guests will never know that the parsley isn't hand-chopped.

The bulghur wheat used in tabbouleh is an earthy home product that has been boiled until it is about to crack open, then set out to dry on sheets in the hot Mediterranean sun.

Bulghur is found at ethnic groceries, either in large self-service barrels or in packages prepared by the grocer. "For tabbouleh, use only grains labeled No. 1, the smallest size," Sukkar says. "This size grain needs to be softened in liquid but does not require cooking."

Never substitute cracked wheat, which is an uncooked and dissimilar grain. Similarly, avoid the bags and boxes labeled "tabbouleh mix" in some supermarkets; they contain irregularly sized bits of bulghur and a few flecks of dried parsley. Some of the larger grains won't absorb enough liquid and remain crunchy enough to break a tooth.

I enjoy a touch of garlic and Middle Eastern red pepper in this salad. Some Middle Eastern cooks add a large pinch of allspice or cumin, but I find those overpower the fresh flavor.

To complete the dish, combine the softened bulghur with parsley, finely chopped green onions, mint and tomatoes. Toss with olive oil and serve within a few hours.

If you have an extra cucumber or a bit of romaine lettuce or cabbage you need to get rid of, Sukkar says, "you can mince it and add it to the salad."

"Anybody who adds cucumber, changing the Lebanese recipe," contradicts Dallas restaurateur Ali Haider, "he's not making tabbouleh! This salad is born in southern Lebanon, and in all the restaurants in Beirut, nobody puts cucumber!"

The final issue is the relative proportion of parsley and bulghur.

"Many Americans they think that tabbouleh is only cracked wheat, but it's not. It must look very green," Haider says.

Each sample of tabbouleh we tasted in Dallas-area Arab delis was delicious and displayed the correct ratio of wheat to parsley. On the other hand, it was difficult to identify a wisp of parsley in the beige products labeled "tabbouleh" in some area salad bars.

A harmonious balance of ingredients is essential for this dish. But proportions remain a matter of taste, and Arabs continue to debate the topic.

I recommend that the finished dish contain 50 percent to 60 percent parsley and vegetables to 30 percent to 40 percent bulghur.

TABBOULEH

1/2 cup bulghur, fine grain (No. 1)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Pinch Middle Eastern red pepper (optional)

1 small clove garlic, crushed with salt (optional)

1 large bunch parsley, preferably Italian

2 medium tomatoes, minced to about 1/3-inch cubes

4 green onions, minced

10 fresh mint leaves, chopped OR 1 tablespoon dried mint

2/3 cup olive oil

Rinse bulghur thoroughly and drain. Cover with lemon juice, stir in red pepper and garlic; set aside to soak. Age and type of wheat will determine soaking time; usually 15 to 40 minutes is sufficient. Grains should be uniformly tender.

Rinse parsley and dry completely. Pinch off leafy branches and pulse briefly and lightly in a food processor to produce pieces about 1/4-inch in diameter. Repeat as necessary until all parsley is minced.

Combine all ingredients; toss to mix well. Set aside 1 hour or 2 to blend flavors. Taste and add more lemon juice and olive oil, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

NOTE: Arabs frequently serve this salad on a serving platter with a small side tray heaped with crisp inner leaves of romaine lettuce. The lettuce is torn and used as a spoon to scoop up the salad from the serving dish.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 419 calories; 36 grams fat; 0 cholesterol; 279 milligrams sodium.

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PHOTO

Photo (Color) Tabbouleh is as controversial in the Middle East as chili or potato salad is in the United States. Juan Garcia/Dallas Morning News