Fattoush Salad, An Herbal Treat

Mediterranean flavors are added to the usual salad ingredients to create something special that may be new to you. (Or may be a favorite, if you happen to be Lebanese.) This Middle Eastern chopped salad combines the exotic with the familiar and uses fresh herbs from your garden.
Perennial plants from your herb garden like mint and thyme, with oregano and the exotic sumac, are tossed with fresh salad veggies. What makes this salad especially tasty is the Middle Eastern version of croutons: the freshly toasted or pan-fried pita bread which soaks up the flavorful dressing and contrasts with the chopped vegetables.

If you grow your own vegetables, Fattoush is a delight to make and combines most of those from a spring garden. Herb gardens provide many of the additions, including garlic, which is quite easy to grow (although it needs to have been started the year before) . Only the Zaatar blend may be necessary to buy, since most of us don’t harvest and dry Sumac!

Fattoush Salad

Delicious Lebanese chopped salad with herb accents

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Prep Time 45 mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 4

Calories 264 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 2 medium cucumbers
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 large red onion
• 3 green onions
• ¼  cup parsley chopped
• 2 tbsp mint chopped
• fresh thyme and oregano leaves optional
• 2-4 flatbread or pita toasted

Dressing

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice plus zest from 1 lemon
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 tsp honey OR pomegranate molasses
• 1 tsp zaatar seasoning or sumac
• ½ tsp salt salt
• fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

 

For Salad

• Wash, prepare and chop all the veggies into bite?size pieces. Wash, then spin-dry the herbs and chop. Place in a large bowl. Save the flatbread/pita for serving time.

Dressing

• Put all the dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake. Pour over the salad, stir, and let stand for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.

To Serve

•  Before serving, sprinkle with extra zaatar, tear the flatbread or toasted pita bread into bite?size chunks and fold into the salad.

Notes

If you like, you can pan fry the pita bread by cutting into bite-size triangles and frying in olive oil; salt and pepper to taste before adding to salad.

Radishes can be added to the salad.

Purchase  Pomegranate molasses online or in Middle Eastern grocery. Zaatar seasoning in the spice section of your grocery or online.

Pomegranate Molasses

Pomegranate molasses is simply the juice of the pomegranate fruit cooked down to a thick consistancy. Sometimes it is sweetened and flavored with lemon juice. You can make your own or purchase this one on Amazon.

Make Your Own

What if you would like to make your own Pomegranate molasses?

Zaatar Spice

What if you’d like to make your own Za’atar mix from scratch?