Fattoush
Middle Eastern
Fattoush is a Levantine bread salad built on crisp, lemony vegetables and torn pieces of toasted or fried flatbread, finished with a tangy sumac dressing. Unlike salads where the dressing is an afterthought, here the lemon, sumac, and red wine vinegar are the backbone -- bright enough to stand up to the crunch of fresh cucumber and romaine. It's traditionally a way to use up stale bread, so the bread should stay crisp rather than soak into sogginess.
Ingredients
- 1 large, diced Cucumber
- 2 medium, diced Tomato
- 1 head, chopped Romaine Lettuce -- substitute: Butter Lettuce
- 1/2 small, thinly sliced Onion -- substitute: Shallot
- 1/2 cup, chopped Parsley -- substitute: Cilantro
- 1/4 cup, chopped Mint
- 1.5 tbsp, divided Sumac -- substitute: Lemon
- 1, juiced Lemon -- substitute: Lime
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar -- substitute: Balsamic Vinegar
Steps
Dice the cucumber, tomato, and onion into bite-sized pieces.
Roughly chop the parsley and mint leaves.
Tear pita bread into pieces and toast or fry until crisp.
Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and sumac for the dressing.
Combine the vegetables and herbs in a large bowl and pour the dressing over.
Toss gently, fold in the crispy bread pieces last, and finish with an extra pinch of sumac.
Plating ideas
- Serve in a wide, shallow bowl — A low, wide bowl keeps the bread pieces from sinking and going soggy under the vegetables.
- Finish with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses — A thin stripe of pomegranate molasses adds tart sweetness and a glossy, deep red accent against the greens.
- Garnish with whole mint leaves — A few whole leaves on top signal freshness before the first bite.