Fattoush salad
A vibrant medley of vegetables that thrive abundantly in the Middle Eastern sun, are combined with a lemon & olive oil dressing then garnished with toasted pita bread croutons and sumac. Our favorite salad of Jordan!
Fattoush Salad
1 piece Koubhiz (pita, flat bread)
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 leaves romaine lettuce
1 large slender green cucumber (English cucumber)
2 medium-sized tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped spring onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint (optional)
1 cup chopped sweet green pepper
1 cup purslane, if available (optional)
Salad Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons ground sumac
-Cut pita into small squares with a knife or kitchen scissors. Spread square croutons out on a baking sheet. Toast the bread cubes in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small saute pan and add bread squares. Fry in oil until golden stirring frequently. Remove onto paper towels to drain, then set aside.
-Wash lettuce leaves and then break into small pieces. Peel cucumber with peeler in stripes, then quarter lengthwise and cut into small chunks. Cut tomatoes into small cubes. Prepare other salad vegetable ingredients. If using purslane, select leaves near the top of the stalks and the young leafy ends and chop roughly.
-Crush garlic into a bowl with the salt and mix to a paste then stir in remaining dressing ingredients. Mix thoroughly with a fork and let rest for at least 20 minutes.
-Combine prepared vegetables and herbs in a salad bowl. Pour on dressing and toss well. Place on a serving platter lined with more whole lettuce leaves, if desired. Top salad with pita croutons and a generous sprinkling of sumac. Chill briefly until serving, with lemon wedges on the side.
-Serves 6 - 8
Prepare vegetables and herbs for salad and the dressing as described in the recipe.
Toss prepared vegetables and salad dressing together in a large bowl.
Purslane garnish - a popular herb used in Middle Eastern cooking.
Garnish salad with croutons and sumac then place lemon wedges around the sides.
So bright and lemony, this salad screams “fresh” with a bit of crunch from the crisp veggies and croutons.
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
*Purslane grows wild in my flower pots in Virginia, but I knew I recognized it as the surprise ingredient that is used in the Middle East in salads. Hard to find in your local produce market, if you are thinking you might have purslane growing in your flower pots, compare carefully with a picture online and then bite into it. It has a slight citrusy and peppery taste and is used in the cuisines of Greece, Mexico, India, Turkey and others. See it pictured close-up in the picture above as the garnish in the middle of the salad.
*Sumac is an indespensable seasoning, which comes from the red berries on the red sumac bush, that make Middle Eastern Foods sparkle. With it’s lemon, peppery flavor, it’s great on soups, salads and meat dishes and adds a dark red color for a notable contrast. (Don’t go picking your own sumac berries unless you know that particular variety is edible.) You can buy Ground Sumac in most grocery stores, in all Middle Eastern Groceries and online at: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ground+sumac&crid=2BSF2VS2BJZQC&sprefix=Ground+Sumac%2Caps%2C82&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_12
*You can use any lettuce that holds up well in dressed salads but romaine lettuce is the lettuce of the Middle East, and you often see people munching a “head” of Romaine with salt for breakfast. Iceberg lettuce can be used but doesn’t hold up as well as the romaine. Avoid leaf lettuce and other deliciate types.
*Any cucumber that has a smooth, mild tasting skin such as English cucumbers, or the little darling Persian cucumbers that you can find in U.S. grocery stores, work well in this salad. If you only have a cucumber with the bitter, harder skin, you can peel your cucumber completely. But leave the stripe on the more tender varieties for vibrant color for the salad.
