One of the most famous dishes from the mediterranean cuisine is undoubtedly the Fattoush salad! You can find this refreshing and vibrant salad in nearly all middle eastern restaurants, but the best way to have it is at home, made from fresh ingredients! It's easy to make and worth all of the chopping. Although I don't make it on a daily basis, I make sure it's on my menu when I'm having company, because it's our favourite!
The most important part, other than making sure you use high quality vegetables, is making sure you crisp up the pita bread to perfection and season it well with sumac. Sumac is one of the key ingredients here, and it's made by crushing sumac berries into a red powder. It has a delicious tangy flavour and it brings out the flavours in this salad. Typically, the bread is friend in oil, but I bake it in the oven because I find it's a lot faster, and I also use less oil. The second most important element is the tangy vinaigrette dressing.
There are many variations to Fattoush across countries and I'm sure each household has their twist. But I love my dressing with lemon, sumac, pomegranate molasses, and of course olive oil. I taste and adjust and sometimes add a pinch of sugar or a bit of honey to cut the tartness, but this is completely optional. Try out this salad for a delicious burst of flavour - you'll thank me later.
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 6 small cucumbers
- 2 small peppers
- 2 green onions
- 3 to matoes
- large handful parsley
- 2-3 sprigs fresh mint
- 4 radish
- 1 seeds of pomegranate
For the pita
- 2 8 " round pita bread
- 2 tsp sumac
- drizzle olive oil about 2-3 tbsp
For the dressing
- Juice of 2-3 lemons
- 3 teaspoon sumac
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- salt and pepper
- dash sugar or some honey optional
Instructions
- Start by cutting up the pita into small pieces and lay them on a baking sheet
- Drizzle with the olive oil and sumac, and mix well. Lay in one layer and bake at 350F for about 8 minutes or until golden.
- Meanwhile chop up all the veggies finely (I like mine fine but use the size you like!), especially the herbs.
- Mix together the dressing components in a mason jar and set aside until time to serve.
- Make sure you also don't mix in the pita bread until everyone is ready to dig in! Enjoy!
Comments
Hello. What can I substitute the pomegranate molasses with?
You can skip it if you don't have it, or add a bit of honey. There's really no direct replacement because it has a unique flavour profile 🙂
Assalaamu alaikum...great summer salad...very refreshing. Great accompliment to a roast leg of lamb.
Thanks so much for the great review Somayya! Totally agreed!