Hemp Seed Tabouli (and a Belated Introduction to the Hemp Seed Project)

So, what’s with all the hemp seeds, already? My enthusiasm for these rich little seeds has bewildered some of you, and I admit I did not know anything like this was going to happen when I began developing hemp seed recipes a little over a year ago. These guys are close to miraculous in their protein content, omega 3-6-9 profile, fiber and, of course, antioxidants. None of this would be of any interest to me at all if I could not also make them delicious.

You can look up information on hemp seed nutrition at Manitoba Harvest, Nutiva, and Living Harvest. I wish I could refer you to site that did not also sell hemp seeds, but so far the otherwise comprehensive USDA nutrition reference site has taken no notice of hemp seeds. One very reasonable explanation for this is that hardly anyone eats them, and the reason for that is they just don’t have enough good recipes. This is what motivates the hemp seed project In Mol Araan. A few traditional hemp seed recipes come from Lithuanian Cuisine. I have made up some recipes ex tempore based on what was most fresh and plentiful at the time, like these awesome, crisp, meltingly tender zucchini pancakes. I made other recipes, like this tabouli-inspired salad, by jumping off from preparations traditional in other cuisines. This hemp seed tabouli has the advantage of being even more delicious than traditional tabouli, as well as being wheat-free, gluten-free, low-glycemic, and high in protein and antioxidants. See Sweetnicks for similarly virtuous creations.

Hemp Seed Tabouli

2 cups hemp seeds

¼ cup olive oil

4 sprigs fresh mint (¼ cup mint leaves, minced)

½ bunch parsley (½ cup parsley leaves, minced)

3 cloves garlic (I used roja garlic this time)

juice from two lemons

salt

Tabasco sauce

Tomatoes, peeled and seeded (you may use no tomatoes or up to four or five)

Lettuce, if you wish

Put the hemp seed s in a bowl and pour in enough hot or warm water to cover them. Allow to soak half an hour or so. Drain the seeds, reserving the hemp-milk for baking, soup, or smoothies. Mince the herbs together with the garlic cloves and one teaspoon salt. Dress the hemp seeds with oil, minced herbs, and lemon juice. Cut the peeled and seeded tomatoes, if you are using them, into medium dice, and mix them into the hemp salad and scatter a few on top. Serve the salad on some pretty lettuce leaves or just a pretty little bowl.

This recipe appeared in Yiddish here.

דער רעצעפּט געפֿינט זיך אױף ייִדיש דאָ

Peasant Farming in Muscovy, by R. E. F. Smith (London and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977) lists hemp among the taxable grains in 17^th century Russia (193). I just have to add that from a footnote on the same page we learn that the pairing of one unit of rye and two of oats was known as yuft’. It just bakes my potatoes to learn that there is a word for one unit of rye and two of oats. I am just going to be using that word at every apropos moment.