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Fattoush Salad

Fattoush, a simple salad popular in Middle Eastern cuisine, is easy to put together and uses the freshest ingredients. It’s light, bright and herbaceous, with a nice bit of crunch thanks to the pita chips. The zesty citrus dressing also gives it that extra pop.

Fattoush Salad

Image Credit: The Mediterranean Dish

For a light lunch, pair this seasonal favourite with a glass or two of Billy Button ‘The Honest’ Fiano, ‘The Groovy’ Grüner Veltliner or Billy Button ‘The Classic’ Chardonnay.

Ingredients

For salad:

  • 2 loaves pita
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp sumac, plus extra, to taste
  • 1 heart cos lettuce, chopped
  • 1 Lebanese cucumber, cut in half, seeds scraped, then chopped or sliced into half moons
  • 5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 5 spring onions (both white and green parts), chopped
  • 5 radishes, stems removed, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups chopped fresh parsley leaves, stems removed
  • 1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)

For dressing:

  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 or 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses (optional)
  • 1 tsp sumac
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice

Method

  1. Prepare salad. Break pita into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil in a large frypan. Add pita. Pan-fry briefly until bread browns, tossing frequently. Using tongs, transfer fried pita chips to a paper-towel-lined plate. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and sumac.
  2. In a large salad bowl, combine cos, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions, radish, parsley and mint (if using).
  3. Make vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, pomegranate molasses (if using), sumac, cinnamon, allspice, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  4. Pour dressing over salad and gently toss. Top with pita chips and sprinkle with more sumac, to taste. Gently toss again. Transfer to 4 small serving bowls or plates.