chicken tabbouleh salad

recipe adapted from Ina Garten


Our a/c is broken and just the thought of cooking makes me hot.  This summer salad is very refreshing! It is filling enough to serve as a meal and requires only a little chopping and boiling water.  I like to prepare it on Sunday and serve it for lunch during the week.  The longer it sits the better it tastes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup bulgur wheat (available in a box in the organic/natural food section at your market).
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 1 whole cooked rotisserie chicken, cut up (bought already made from the market)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bunch minced scallions, white and green parts 
• 1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (2 bunches) (optional)*
• 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (1 bunch)
• 1  cucumber, cut up
• 1-2 pints halved cherry tomatoes

Directions

In a heat-proof bowl, pour the boiling water over the bulgur wheat. Add the lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Stir. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the bulgur to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Cut the chicken up into medium dice and add to the tabbouleh. Add the scallions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Season, to taste, and serve or chill and serve cold later.  Tastes even better the next day.

*I'm not a huge fan of mint so I either omit it or only add about a tablespoon.