- 5 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1/2 cup extra-fine bulgur
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 cup packed finely chopped mint
- 2 cups packed finely chopped parsley
One of my favorite Lebanese restaurants in São Paulo is the Arabia, and among some of their vegan-friendly dishes, they serve a rich chickpea bulgur salad that is to dye for. Here’s the copy-cat recipe, and I have to tell you, it tastes amazingly close to the one they serve there.If you need a shortcut, use canned chickpeas; make sure to rinse and drain well before using them. I like to use dried chickpeas, soak them overnight and cook them in the pressure cooker – I feel they taste fresh and healthy. If you start with dried chickpeas, you will need about 2 cups to end up with 5 cups of cooked chickpeas for this recipe.This is an absolutely divine main course salad! It is a top choice when you need to take something for a potluck or need a make-ahead one-dish meal.
- Soak the bulgur in 1 ½ cup of warm water. Cover and let it rest for one hour. After one hour, the bulgur should have absorbed all the moisture. If it looks soupy, drain it in a strainer pressing it with the back of a large spoon, or just squeezing it in your hands.
- Add the garlic, lemon juice, black pepper, salt, mint, and parsley in a large bowl and whisk it until well combined. Add the chickpeas, bulgur, and toss them to combine. Let it rest in the fridge for one hour before serving.