Fattoush
About the recipe
Fattoush is a fresh chopped vegetable salad popular in different countries in the Middle East, with countless variations passed down through generations. It’s one of those salads that has as many variations as there are families who make it.
My take is simple, light and healthy. The sumac (a citrusy spice with a beautiful red hue), pitta and pomegranate molasses elevate it so much higher than any lettuce salad you’ve had before.
Fattoush
Ingredients
- 2 pitta
- 4 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of sumac
- A pinch of coarse sea salt
- A quarter of an iceberg lettuce
- 200g ripe tomatoes
- One cucumber
- 4 spring onions
- 1 red pepper (optional)
- A handful of radishes (optional)
- 5g mint
- 5g parsley
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- Salt and pepper
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TOAST THE PITTA
Heat your grill to medium.
Separate the two halves of the pitta.
You can use scissors. Insert your blade into an edge and snip all the way round.
Lightly toast both pittas in a toaster.
Then allow them to cool enough to handle.
Chop your pitta halves into wedges, place them smooth side down on a baking tray, brush with about a tablespoon of the olive oil, and sprinkle with some of the sumac and the sea salt.
Grill.
It will take about 5 minutes until they’re golden and crispy.
MAKE THE SALAD
Cut your lettuce into bitesize chunks.
Peel and chop the cucumber, and add to the lettuce.
I use a speed peeler to peel it. Then I half it lengthways and cut into half moons.
Chop and add the other vegetables
Cut the tomatoes into wedges, slice the spring onion,roughly dice the pepper (if using) and slice the radishes (if using). Add it all to the other veg.
Next add your herbs.
Strip the mint leaves from their stalks, and finely chop.
Then chop the parsley. I like to keep the stalks, but cut them very finely.
Dress and season your salad
Toss your vegetables with the remaining olive oil and sumac, and the pomegranate molasses.
Season with salt and pepper.
Taste it!
Does it need more sumac, lemon, salt?
Top your salad with the toasted pitta and enjoy immediately.
Tip:
This salad works brilliantly as a stand-alone lunch, any time you want something quick, fresh and light.
But it really comes into its element as part of a bigger spread, adding freshness to complement richer dishes.
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