Fattoush is a Lebanese salad with fresh chopped veggies, herbs and crispy pita chips in a tangy olive oil, lemon and sumac dressing. This simple salad is a great combination of texture and flavour and a delicious alternative to a boring old chopped salad.
Ever since installing a gas range in our kitchen we’ve been going crazy with the baba ganoush. It’s quite possible that the only reason we put the gas in was to make baba ganoush.
After our last batch, however, we miscalculated and had quite a bit of pita bread leftover. Luckily there’s a simple solution for leftover pita bread: fattoush salad!
After tabbouleh, fattoush might be the most famous Lebanese salad and it’s a great accompaniment to the aforementioned baba ganoush, a plate of hummus or falafel.
To make fattoush you’ll need a variety of vegetables. There are many possibilities here but you’ll definitely want to include cucumber, tomato, mint, and parsley.
It goes without saying that for the best results use the freshest ingredients – especially the tomatoes. Unless you have a garden, your best bet is usually cherry tomatoes for the sweetest, ripest, most flavoursome tomatoes.
While most fattoush recipes call for lettuce or purslane, they’re not obligatory. I like to include a small amount of lettuce to bulk up the salad just a bit but I prefer the veggies, herbs and pita chips to be the star.
Additionally I threw in quartered radishes and sliced shallot. You can use red or green onion if you prefer, and if your onion is quite pungent, soak it in cold water while you prepare the rest of the veggies.
The dressing for this Lebanese salad is a zesty lemon and sumac vinaigrette with a touch of garlic. If you’re not a fan of raw garlic in a salad you can simply smash a clove with the side of your knife a let it infuse into the dressing. Otherwise, if you’re a garlic junkie, mince it up.
Finally, the pita chips. There are several ways to achieve the crispy pita chips that are essential for fattoush. You can toast them, bake them or fry them – take your pick.
I chose to bake mine this time as the dressing already has enough oil but frying them will add a bit of extra flavour if you choose to go that route.
The quantities for this Lebanese salad recipe will be enough to serve two big plates if you’re taking it as a main dish or four as a side dish. Leftovers do not keep well as the pita chips will lose their crunch after the dressing in poured on.
For that reason if you’re making this salad in advance, toss the veggies together but keep the pita chips and dressing separate until you’re ready to serve.
Lebanese Salad
Fattoush is a Lebanese salad with fresh chopped veggies, herbs and crispy pita chips in a tangy olive oil, lemon and sumac dressing.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic, smashed or minced
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pepper, to taste
- 2 pitas
- 2 cups chopped lettuce (something tasty like romaine or little gem)
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 English cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers
- ¼ packed cup parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint
- 1 shallot, sliced (or red or green onion), soaked in cold water if it is pungent
- ⅓ cup quartered radishes
- Optional: a few pinches of sumac for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, sumac, salt and pepper in a bowl or small jar and mix well. If you don’t want a pungent garlic taste, just smash the garlic with you knife and allow it to infuse into the dressing. If you like garlic, mince it up and add it in.
- Slice open the pita bread and separate them into two (you have four pieces of bread now). Brush them with a bit of olive oil and bake until golden brown – 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool until crisp them break them into pieces.
- Meanwhile chop the veggies. If your cucumber has some seeds, scrape them out and slice the cucumber into half moons.
- Combine the veggies and herbs in a bowl and toss. Add the pita chips and toss again then pour over the dressing and toss. Sprinkle with some additional sumac if desired and serve immediately.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 248Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 481mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 7gSugar: 12gProtein: 7g
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