Tabbuleh 30 g fine burghul 600 g firm ripe tomatoes, diced into small cubes 50 g spring onions, trimmed and very thinly sliced 400 g flat-leaf parsley, most of the stalk discarded, very finely chopped 70 g mint, leaves only, very finely chopped ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground allspice (or Lebanese seven-spice mixture) ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper Salt to taste Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste 150 ml extra virgin olive oil 4 gem lettuce, washed and quartered 1. Rinse the burghul in several changes of cold water. Drain well and put in a bowl. Stir it with a fork every now and then to help fluff it up. Put the diced tomatoes in a bowl and set aside while you prepare the onion and herbs. A word of warning: do not chop the herbs with a mezzaluna. This will only bruise them. Instead, use a razor sharp knife and gather as much as you can handle in a bunch and slice them very thin to end up with nice, crisp thin strips. Drain the tomatoes of their juice and put in a large bowl. Add the spring onion and herbs. Sprinkle the burghul all over. Season with the cinnamon, allspice and pepper. Add salt to taste. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately with the quartered gem lettuce. From "Modern Mezze " and "Lebanese Cuisine: More Than 250 Authentic Recipes From The Most Elegant Middle Eastern Cuisine by Anissa Helou middle eastern recipe index christina m k al-sudairy buy the book!