Fresh, brightly-coloured Fattoush, which makes use of roasted leftover, or even stale pita, is considered a humble salad in Lebanon and Syria.
In reality, like all elegant Levantine or Middle Eastern fare, it's a delightful tasting meal by itself, and healthy to boot.
Its name derives from the Arabic word for crumbs or fatteh. Therefore, the base of the salad is old pita and you can pretty much add any green you like or chopped vegetables, as long as you remember to season it with sumac, quality olive oil and lemon juice.
A little feta or a dash of honey or molasses, shredded roast chicken are interesting upgrades to the salad.
This salad by Zelda Pande should ideally not be made ahead of time because the pita will soften and become limp. It's best to keep the ingredients chopped and toss the salad at the table. But once made, it does last in the fridge for a few days and is not that much worse for the wear.
Fattoush Salad
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
Method
Zelda's Note: Sumac is a tangy, lemony spice used in Middle Eastern cooking, that can be purchased online.
If you desire a little sweetness in the salad, add 1 tbsp honey or pomegranate molasses or 2-3 tbsp fresh pomegranate arils.
Other vegetables that can be added or substituted: ½ a zucchini sliced lengthwise and sauteed in a dash of olive oil, baby spinach, steamed green beans, baby onions, basil, romaine lettuce leaves, lollo rosso lettuce leaves, yellow capsicum or green capsicum, a few pieces chopped mulee instead of red radish, ½ a carrot julienned. But vegetables to pita proportion should be roughly equal.
A few pieces paneer may be used instead of feta, although feta with its sharp, tanginess is preferred.
While traditionally pita is the main ingredient of this salad, technically any grain toasted flatbread would do, be it ragi bread or whole wheat lavash. If using regular bread use a belan or rolling pin to roll it out to flatten it and then toast.
Skip the garlic and spring onions for a Jain version of Fattoush.
A shredded roasted chicken breast is a suitable non-vegetarian addition to the salad.
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