About the Recipe
Fattoush is a traditional Lebanese peasant salad from the Levantine region. Its defining ingredient is toasted or fried pieces of stale flatbread (khubz, commonly pita), which are added to a base of chopped garden vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and greens like romaine lettuce and mint. The salad is dressed with a vinaigrette of olive oil, lemon juice, and sumac. It originated as a practical way to use leftover bread and seasonal produce. It is served as a side dish (mezze) or light lunch.
Ingredients
4 pieces stale pita bread
1 teaspoon sumac
Salt and pepper
3 big heirloom tomatoes, such as purple cherokee and green zebra
1pint cherry tomatoes, halved
3 or 4 Persian cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced into chunks
3 scallions, bulb end removed, sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced, optional
1/4 cup mint, roughly chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoon pomegranate syrup
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried mint
1/2 teaspoon sumac
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350° F. If pita is pocket-style, slice open. Put in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and sprinkle with sumac, salt, and pepper. Bake pita 15 to 20 minutes, until crisped. Remove toasted pita from oven, and break into uneven bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
Step 2
Set aside a bowl for making the dressing; as you slice tomatoes, you’ll add the collected juices to the bowl. Rinse and dry large heirloom tomatoes delicately. Halve tomatoes, then slice each into 2-bite wedges, taking care to reserve the collected juice and transfer it into the dressing bowl. Halve cherry tomatoes. Transfer all tomatoes to large, shallow bowl or rimmed serving platter. Add cucumbers, red onions (if using), scallions, mint, and parsley to the salad bowl, and carefully incorporate without smushing tomatoes. (That’s a technical term.) Add pita chips on top.
Step 3
Make dressing: combine all ingredients except oil, and whisk to combine. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking as you pour to emulsify dressing. Drizzle dressing over salad, and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes before serving, tossing every 10 minutes or so to meld flavors.