Fattoush Salad 2 Comments

Ever get tired of salad? Greens, greens, and more greens? Well, as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing better than a salad with a little grain thrown into the mix. Think about Caesar salad with big chunky croutons, or a taco salad with crunchy corn chips. The Italians have panzanella (bread salad),and the Lebanese have fattoush salad. It was one of the first meals I learned how to make when I was growing up.

This salad is much easier and quicker to prepare than a panzanella or a tabbouleh salad, because you roughly chop all the ingredients. In fact, fattoush salad looks like it’s just thrown together: torn romaine lettuce, large bite-sized pieces of cucumbers, tomatoes, green bell peppers, scallions, mint and cilantro. And then the salad is topped off with baked or fried pita bread.

What makes this salad unique is the spice in the dressing: sumac. Sumac is a key Middle-Eastern spice with a soft, tart flavor. This delicate tartness brightens up the salad and compliments the olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. The result is a bright summery salad that has a rustic feel to it, Lebanese style.