Fattoush Salad
Fattoush is a delicious Lebanese salad enjoyed amongst all Arabs! It’s filled with greens, vegetables, tons of fresh herbs, a tangy dressing, and my favorite part, crispy fried pita. It’s basically the Caesar Salad of the Middle East and it’s so easy to make.
The Veggies
There can be no salad with veggies of course! Now fattoush traditionally always has these key veggies, like the following:
- romaine lettuce
- cucumber
- tomatoes
- radishes
But of course I like to switch it up and add a few other veggies that I think complement the salad’s flavors very well such as:
- black olives
- pepperoncini peppers
Feel free to stick to what you like! I keep the radishes out because they taste very bitter to me. You can also add green onion or red onion if you’d like.
The Dressing
Now that we got the veggies down, it’s time to season everything up with our dressing!
Here are the ingredients you will need:
- olive oil
- pomegranate molasses
- lemon juice
- vinegar
- salt
- black pepper
- sumac
- allspice
- parsley
- mint
- garlic
Just add everything to a jar, shake it, and there you have your dressing! Toss it in the salad right before serving so it doesn’t get soggy. Just make sure to taste and adjust any flavors to your liking.
For the mint, I like to use dried mint instead of fresh but fresh is very commonly used! With dried mint because it’s crushed, I find the flavor to be distributed more evenly.
For parsley, make sure to use fresh not dried and finely chop it.
Making the Pita Chips
Pita chips are to fattoush like croutons are to Caesar. The salad simply cannot be complete without the addition of them.
Just take some pita and tear it or chop it into small pieces. Heat up some vegetable oil in a pan and shallow fry until golden and crispy! Transfer to a paper towel to soak excess oil and that’s it.
Add the pita chips all the way at the end right before enjoying the salad so they stay crispy when served.
Other Recipes to Try
Fattoush Salad
Ingredients
THE VEGGIES
- 1 large romaine head chopped thin
- 1 cup diced cucumbers
- 2 roma tomatoes chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup black olives sliced (optional)
- 1/4 cup sliced pepperoncinis (optional)
DRESSING
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 to 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon sumac more to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
OTHER
- 2 pitas teared into pieces
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
MAKE THE DRESSING
- To a jar, add all the ingredients for the dressing (olive oil, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, garlic, sumac, dried mint, black pepper, salt, allspice). Shake around until evenly combined and set aside.
FRY THE PITA
- To a pan over medium heat, heat up vegetable oil to shallow fry. When the oil is hot, add the chopped pita and stir every now and then so it browns evenly. Once golden, take out of the oil and drain any excess oil on a paper towel. Optional, season with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper.
TOSS THE SALAD
- To a large salad bowl, add the romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, and any other veggies you wish to add!
- Drizzle in the salad and toss. Taste and adjust anything you like.
- Right before serving, add the pita chips and enjoy fresh!
Video
Notes
