Fattoush (fresh herby salad with pita chips) Recipe
This was, and still is, my favorite of all of the salads I grew up eating. It was so unknown to those around me that I was floored when I heard it referenced in pop culture as a tween, albeit in the form of some absurd Adam Sandler movie where the antagonist was named Fattoush.
Putting aside the above detour, this has to be one of the most refreshing salads, especially during peak summer when tomatoes and cucumbers are full of flavor and don’t taste like water. It seems really easy to make when you look at the finished product but this salad is only as good as the dressing. It is easy to make a mediocre version, like you’ll have in many restaurants, where the primary flavor is sourness. If you put in the extra effort, you will get a much more balanced salad. When you dig in, you’ll get notes of tart from the sumac and freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, a burst of freshness from the fresh mint and parsley, and richness from the good extra version olive oil.
Ingredients:
Lettuce, you can use butterhead (3) or romaine (3)
tomatoes (3 beefsteak)
Persian cucumbers (5-6)
cubanelle pepper (1)
flat-leaf parsley (1 bunch)
fresh mint leaves (1/2 cup)
red onion (1 medium)
purslane (1 cup - optional)
garlic (2 cloves)
lemons (2)
apple cider vinegar (2 tablespoons)
extra virgin olive oil (1 cup)
sumac (1/2 teaspoon)
fresh pomegranate juice (1 tablespoon)
salt and pepper (to taste)
pita bread (2 loaves - thin pita bread)
Recipe:
To make the pita chips, cut up 2 loaves of thin pita bread into 1-inch pieces. You can deep fry the pieces or bake them in the oven with olive oil.
To make the dressing, mince the onion and garlic and add to it the salt, pepper, and sumac and re-mince all together on the cutting board. Move the mixture to a medium-sized bowl and add the lemon, pomegranate juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil. Whisk everything together and set aside.
For the salad ingredients, roughly chop the mint and parsley and add to a large bowl. Chop the cubanelle pepper, tomatoes, and lettuce into 1-inch pieces and add to the bowl. Chop the cucumbers into 1/2 inch pieces and add to the bowl. Add the purslane and pita chips to the bowl. Pour the dressing in the bowl, mix everything well, and enjoy!