Fattoush

Fattoush (Lebanese Bread and Sumac Salad)

A bright Lebanese chopped salad built on the crunch of toasted or fried pita and the tang of sumac-laced dressing, traditionally served as part of a mezze spread.

Prep

20 min

Cook

8 min

Total

28 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •2 small pita breads pita bread, day-old works best
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil, plus extra for brushing the pita
• •1 head romaine lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
• •1 medium cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
• •2 medium tomatoes, cored and diced
• •4 small radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
• •4 spring onions spring onions, white and light green parts, sliced
• •10 g (⅓ cup loosely packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped
• •5 g (2 tbsp) fresh mint, leaves only, torn
• •15 g (½ cup) fresh purslane, optional but traditional; substitute extra parsley if unavailable
• •1 small green bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced into thin rings
• •1 teaspoon (1 tsp) sumac, plus a little more for finishing
• •2 tablespoons (2 tbsp) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• •15 ml (1 tbsp) pomegranate molasses
• •1 small clove garlic, finely grated or crushed to a paste
• •3 g (1 tsp) salt, fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• •0.5 g (½ tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• •60 g (½ cup) pomegranate seeds, optional garnish

Steps

1. 1 Heat a large dry skillet over medium heat. Brush both sides of each pita with a thin film of olive oil, then tear or cut into rough 2–3 cm (about 1 inch) shards. Toast in the dry skillet, pressing occasionally, until crisp and lightly golden on both sides, 3–5 minutes. Alternatively, the traditional method is to fry the shards in about 1 cm (⅓ inch) of hot oil at 180 °C (350 °F) until golden and crisp, then drain on paper. Cool completely; the shards should snap cleanly when broken.
2. 2 While the pita cools, prepare the vegetables. Tear the romaine leaves into bite-size pieces and place in a large salad bowl. Add the cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, spring onions, parsley, mint, purslane (if using) and green pepper.
3. 3 In a small jar or bowl, whisk the lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, grated garlic, sumac, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil while whisking until the dressing is slightly thickened and emulsified. Taste and adjust salt or lemon; the dressing should be noticeably tangy.
4. 4 Add the toasted pita shards to the bowl just before serving so they stay crunchy. Pour about two-thirds of the dressing over the salad and toss gently from the bottom up to coat everything evenly without crushing the bread.
5. 5 Drizzle the remaining dressing over the top, scatter the pomegranate seeds if using, dust with a little extra sumac, and serve immediately at room temperature. Fattoush is best eaten the moment the pita still snaps.