August 08, 2013
Tabouli Stuffed Tomatoes!
I decided that I wanted to make some tabouli for my dinner, and that was about as far as I had come in my decision making. I didn't know if that was all I was going to eat, or if I was going to combine it with some other dish. While driving to the store specifically to get the remaining ingredients needed for the tabouli, I was listening to the radio and heard someone talk about the fresh tomatoes in their garden, and all the dishes they were going to make with them. I then thought how awesome it would be if I could stuff tomatoes with my tabouli! So...here is the finished product! No oil, no wheat, nuts or grains. Just pure, sweet, fresh, perfect vegetables!
You will need:
- 3 cups finely chopped parsley (your choice of any type, I personally prefer Italian for this recipe)
- 2 cups finely chopped leeks (details below)
- 1 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh mint
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 4 (or more) tomatoes
- juice of 1 to 2 lemons
- salt and pepper to taste
Step 1:
Finely chop up the parsley, cilantro, mint and garlic, and add it to a large bowl.
Step 2: Next, we will take our leeks, and chop off the bottom part. This will be used in replacement of onion, which is the usual ingredient. I prefer leeks better as they are so good for you and have a wonderful flavor!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="470"]
The white part of the leek is just like a sweet onion. This is the part we will use for the tabouli mixture. You will need the bottoms of 2 leeks to make 2 cups worth.[/caption]
Slice the leeks in half, then lengthwise, then chop them up into finely diced pieces, and add them to the bowl with the rest of the vegetables.
Step 3: Using 3 of the 4 tomatoes, slice the bottoms off, leaving the top part on (where the stem is). This part is flatter than the bottoms, so we will use that as our base:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="470"]
Save the bottoms, as you can chop that up and add it to the tabouli salad![/caption]
Step 4: Next, scoop our the insides of the 3 tomatoes. This will make room for them to be stuffed.
Once the insides are out, we will then chop them up along with our 4th tomato, and add that to the salad.
Step 5: Squeeze the lemon juice into the mix, and add the salt and pepper, about 1 tsp each. Mix everything together in a bowl, and voila! We are done with our raw tabouli! No added oils, and no grains!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="470"]
GORGEOUS COLORS![/caption]
This tabouli works wonderful as a salad, for a meal by itself, or as a side for another dish! The options are limitless! However, we are making tabouli stuffed tomatoes, so let's continue...
Step 6: Take the hollowed out tomatoes, and stuff them with the tabouli. Make sure to pack the salad in tight, so that you can have a well stuffed tabouli tomato!
And we are done! Sprinkle the tops with sesame or hemp seeds, then dig in!
Soooo good!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="470"]
Perfectly stuffed and overflowing with fresh, lemony goodness![/caption]
Fun fact: I had some leftover tabouli salad for the next day, so I decided to also stuff them into bell peppers for my dinner. They turned out great, try it!







