Recipe: Appetizing Fattoush

Keith Gonzalez

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Recipe: Appetizing Fattoush Delicious, fresh and tasty.

Fattoush. This light salad of Lebanese origin is a big favorite. Crunchy fried pita chips add delightful taste and texture. And a lemon and white wine vinegar dressing makes a snappy, light lunch or dinner.

Sumac, usually sold ground, is ground red berries and used in Middle Eastern, particularly Lebanese, cooking.

Lebanon's most famous salad, fattoush, is a juicy, crunchy mix of herbs, cucumber, tomatoes, and pita, bright with the flavor of sumac.

Fattoush (Arabic: فتوش ‎, also fattush, fatush, fattoosh, and fattouche) is a Levantine salad made from toasted or fried pieces of khubz (Arabic flat bread) combined with mixed greens and other vegetables, such as radishes and tomatoes.

You can cook Fattoush using 18 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Fattoush

Prepare of For crispy pita bites:.
It’s 2 of pita breads.
You need 1/4 cup of olive.
Prepare to taste of Kosher salt.
You need of For salad:.
You need 1 head of romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces.
It’s of I pint cherry tomatoes halved.
Prepare 1 of English cucumber halved and thinly sliced.
It’s 1/2 of medium red onion thinly sliced & separated into 1/2 circles.
You need 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves torn into small pieces.
It’s of Lemon sumac dressing:.
It’s 1 clove of garlic minced.
It’s 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (about one lemon).
It’s 1 tbsp of honey.
It’s 1 teaspoon of sumac.
Prepare 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt or more.
Prepare to taste of freshly ground black pepper.
Prepare 1 of third cup extra virgin olive oil.

I've been looking for an authentic-tasting fattoush dressing recipe for ages and this fits the bill.

Made it last evening and it was a great hit.

If you were to order a basic fattoush salad at a local restaurant, you likely find: cucumbers, tomatoes, purslane leaves (or lettuce), radish, and green onions.

Fresh herbs like parsely or mint, or both.

Fattoush step by step

Preheat oven to 350°F..
Cut pitas in half. Separate the top from the bottom and tear into bite size pieces. Transfer to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil; toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet and season with kosher salt. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, tossing once, until crisp and golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to a bowl to keep from over browning. Set aside..
Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently to combine..
In a separate bowl combine first 6 dressing ingredients (garlic through black pepper); whisk until combined and honey has dissolved. Add olive oil in a slow but steady stream, whisking constantly until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper..
Drizzle dressing over salad and gently toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle crispy pita bites over the top and serve!.

A simple zesty vinaigrette and a generous dash of sumac spice give fattoush its distinctly complex flavor.

For millions of Muslims in the United States, food takes on a new significance during Ramadan Fasting during this time is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with devotion to Allah, prayer, giving alms and visiting Mecca Soup or salad, like the fattoush made with tomatoes and pita bread, is a light way to break the fast.

Fattoush is also meant to be a clean-out-the-crisper-drawer sort of situation, typically featuring a base of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, plus any extra veggies that you may have on hand.

It's typically tossed with a simple lemon dressing and tons of fresh mint, whose flavors brighten up this salad beautifully..

Fattoush is the official Lebanese peasant salad, and farmers just throw in whatever spring/summer harvest they have into the bowl to build up this beauty.