1 April, 2013
Fattoush
Posted in : Cold Meza (Mezze Appetizers), Recipes, Salads, Vegan only on by : el Meza
Fattoush – Traditional Salad with Pita Crumbs
Fattoush Salad is Lebanon’s peasant salad. A rich, complex taste emanates from the rainbow of veggies and the tanginess of its dressing.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs of tomatoes
- 1 lbs of lebanese cucumbers
- 1 bunch of green onions
- 1 bunch of green mint
- 1 bunch of Italian parsley
- ½ bunch of red radish
- 20 leaves of romaine lettuce
- 1 large green or red bell pepper
- ½ cup of Purslane Leaves (optional)
- Some green basil and/or oregano leaves (optional)
- 2 table spoons of Sumac spice
- ⅓ cup of pomegranate molasses (optional)
- 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 5 Lebanese pita bread loafs
- ⅓ cup of Olive Oil
- Salt to taste
Preparation
Use fresh, organic veggies if possible. Rinse all veggies thoroughly with cold water.
Separate the pita bread leafs, cut them into 1×1 inch squares, and toast them in the oven until they are light brown (bake for ~ 3-5 mins on 400F). (You can also fry them instead, if you wish). Put aside.
Chop the tomatoes into small chunks of 1 inch.
Chop the lebanese cucumbers into half disks of ¼ to ⅓ of an inch thick. If lebanese cucumbers are not available, use English or regular cucumbers and chop into smaller pieces since they have a larger diameter naturally.
Chop onions into fine half disks of about 1 inch long.
Green Mint and Italian Parsley: remove stems, and chop leaves in halves or thirds. You don’t want the pieces to be too tiny or too large.
Red Radish: chop into thin disks.
Green or red Pepper: Chop into small pieces of ⅓ inch
Lettuce: chop into pieces of 1-2 inches
Add the basil and/or oregano leaves whole (optional).
Mixing the Fattoush Salad
Mix immediately before serving so the salad doesn’t get soggy. Place all vegetables in a bowl, add the pomegranate molasses, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sumac and salt and mix well with the veggies.
Then add the toasted bread and mix again, gently so the bread doesn’t break much.
Add the olive oil at the end, mix gently then serve.
TIP: For more taste, you can add half the sumac spice, a little bit of salt and half the olive oil on the pita bread crumbs. Mix well in a ziploc bag and add to the fattoush. You can also reserve some for garnish.