Cooking Everything Vegetarian

My three-year-old is currently going through a hummus preoccupation. It might have even crossed over into the land of obsession. Every time that I offer him choices for his meal, he always asks: “How about hummus?”—whether we have hummus in the house or not.

What better time to try out Bittman’s hummus recipe? And why not make his tabouli to go along with it?

Milo's post-nap snack plate

It felt strange to be following a recipe for either of these staples. Tabouli and hummus were two of the first vegetarian dishes that my mother ever made specifically for me! This was in the early 90s in Texas, so when I first ate tabouli, it was the first time I’d ever seen parsley in any role other than as a limp garnish on my plate at a restaurant. Here it was taking center stage, and with bulgur, another food I’d never eaten before! My teenage mind was blown, I fell in love, and Mom thoughtfully continued to make tabouli and hummus for me whenever I came home from college so that there would be something in the refrigerator for me to eat. Thanks, Mom!

Obviously, I’ve made these dishes hundreds of times in the last 20 years—there is a quinoa tabouli and three different hummuses in Yellow Rose Recipes—so I was curious to see Bittman’s versions.

There were a couple of surprises: his hummus called for a whole tablespoon of cumin (I obeyed, and was glad that I did) and his tabouli called for 1 whole cup of fresh mint (again: I dutifully obeyed and the tabouli was all the better for it). The only changes I made were: I omitted the optional fresh tomatoes in the tabouli because tomatoes aren’t in season; I cut the suggested 1/3 cup olive oil for the tabouli back to 1/4 cup, and it still tasted too oily for me, so I will probably adjust to 3 tablespoons next time.

Otherwise, these were wonderful versions, and I’m looking forward to the summertime when the mint in my herb garden is going crazy and the heirloom tomatoes are as big as my head and there is always a big batch of tabouli in the fridge!

Recipes: Tabbouleh, page 43 and Hummus, page 614

Did I have to veganize them: Of course not!