Fattoush salad is one of the Middle Eastern cuisine’s most popular and flavorful salads. It’s made with fresh greens, herbs, veggies, and crispy pita bread which adds crunchiness and tangy dressing. It’s the perfect salad to add to any meal or take to a picnic or any gathering.
What is Fattoush?
In Arabic, Fattoush is derived from the word “Fatteh” which means “crush or crumbs”. It belongs to fatteh dishes which use stale Arabic bread as a base.
Fattoush salad is very common in most Levantine countries and each recipe slightly differs. There is no rule when it comes to the recipe, different vegetables and herbs are used varying by season and taste. The vegetables are cut into large pieces rather than small ones. The critical ingredient is the crispy pita bread and without it, it’s just a normal salad, not fattoush.
Recipe Ingredients:
- Romain lettuce
- Purslane leaves: authentic fattoush uses purslane leaves but if you can not find any, replace them with watercress leaves.
- Mint leaves
- Parsley.
- Persian cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Radishes
- Pomegranates seeds
- Red onions: I have used a pickled onion rather than using raw onion, I have marinated raw onion in vinegar, olive oil, sumac, and sugar and used it in fattoush. The onion will be softened and will add more yumminess to this salad. The detailed pickled onion recipe is below in the recipe.
- Crispy pita bread: for this recipe, I have cut the pita bread into small squares and baked it instead of frying it.
- For the dressing you will need:
- Sumac: is a regular ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine, it’s tart and has a lemony flavor, you cannot skip sumac when you are making fattoush. I have used it twice in this recipe in the dressing and for pickling the fresh onion.
- Lemon juice
- Olive oil
- Pomegranate molasses
- Salt
- Pepper.
Storing:
You can store fattoush in the fridge for up to 2-3 days preferably without adding the dressing as it will get soggy and the crispy pita bread should be stored separately. Just store the chopped veggies in an airtight glass container and once ready to serve add the salad dressing and the crispy bread to the salad. I always make a big batch of fattoush as it’s my husband’s favorite salad and store it in the fridge, although it won’t last more than 2 days considering how much he loves that salad:)
If you like this recipe and looking for more vegan recipes inspirations make sure to check the below:
Fattoush salad
Ingredients
Fattoush salad:
- 3 cups Romain lettuce chopped, packed
- 2 Tomatoes chopped
- 2 Persian cucumbers chopped
- ¾ cup Radishes sliced
- 1 cup Purslane leaves
- ½ cup Pomegranate seeds
- ½ cup Parsley roughly chopped
- ½ cup Mint leaves roughly chopped
- 2 Pita bread
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
Pickled onions:
- ½ red onion sliced
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp sumac powder
- ¼ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Fattoush dressing:
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tsp sumac powder
- 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Making pickled onions:
- Mix the marinade ingredients in a jar and add the red sliced onion, shake well to combine, and keep the jar in the fridge to add to the salad later.
Salad dressing:
- Add all the salad dressing ingredients to a jar and shake well to combine. Set aside.
Making Fattoush salad:
- Preheat the oven to 180-200°C. Cut the pita bread into small-medium size square shapes, and transfer it to a baking tray. Add the olive oil and mix to coat the squared bread pieces. Put the tray in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden crispy. Take them out of the oven and let them cool.
- To a mixing bowl add all the chopped veggies and herbs, add the pickled onions, crispy pitas, and the dressing. Mix to combine. Serve and enjoy.
Leave a Reply