Who doesn’t love a salad that has bread in it? Give me a salad with heft in it over a plain old leafy salad any day. This fattoush is filled with a crunchy medley romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and crispy pita, all tossed in a bright and sunny sumac lemon dressing. The best part might be the crispy pitas – it’s worth it to heat up the oven and spend some time baking up what essentially come to the freshest pita chips you’ll ever taste. The dry crispy crunch of the pitas next to the juiciness of the tomatoes and the freshness of the cucumbers is pure salad heaven. No sad salad here!
Fattoush Salad Recipe
serves 6-8
lightly based on this Epicurious recipe
Dressing:
- 4 teaspoons ground sumac
- 3 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons (or more) pomegranate molasses
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons (or more) white wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
Salad:
- 2 large thin pita breads, ripped into bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 pound Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 small head romaine lettuce, trimmed, cut crosswise into 3/4″ strips
- 2 cups (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Soak the sumac in a bowl with 4 teaspoons warm water for 15 minutes.
While the sumac is soaking, place the pitas in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, tossing to coat. Sprinkle on salt. Place pieces on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, with plenty of space between the pitas. Bake, until golden brown and crisp, flipping once, about 8-10 minutes. The chips will continue to crisp up as they cool down out of the oven.
Whisk the lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, garlic cloves, and vinegar into the sumac water bowl. Slowly add in the oil, whisking constantly, until well blended. Taste, salt, and adjust seasoning accordingly.
In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, romaine, parsley, and mint leaves. Add the dressing to taste (you probably won’t need all of it), tossing gently. At this point, you can stop if you need to and add the pita chips right before you serve.
Toss in the pita chips and enjoy immediately!
