Fattoush Salad

Fattoush salad is a colorful combination of chopped vegetables, a mix of common fresh mediterranean ingredients like romaine lettuce, vine ripened tomatoes, cucumbers and more.  You can pretty much add any fresh salad veggie you have on hand.  Sumac and crushed garlic in the dressing makes the flavors pop.

When making the dressing use the best extra virgin olive oil you can find; the ingredients are simple so the quality and freshness is key.  When purchasing sumac, the spice that gives you the tanginess in the salad, look for more of a deep reddish brown color.  The brighter the red the more pure the sumac.  Crunchy pita bread bits add texture to the salad.

If you cannot find sumac where you live, you can substitute with chili powder and increase the lemon juice by 2 tablespoons.  I certainly cannot get it here in Chongqing but I'm fortunate enough to have a stash of spices brought from home with me.  Its really a pleasure to buy vegetables in the area I live now.  The Chinese thrive on fresh picked vegetables, which makes it very convenient for my mediterranean cooking.  Ahhhh, here I have found some similarities...

Before I prepare the salad, I head over to the vegetable carts down the street from my villa compound.  The farmers spread their produce of all varieties, picked early each morning.

Ingredients:

3 cups lettuce shredded

3/4 cup tomato diced

3/4 cup cucumber diced

1/2 cup broccoli chopped

1/2 cup green or red bell pepper diced

1/2 cup carrots shredded

1/4 cup green onion diced

1/4 cup red onion sliced

1/4 cup parsley chopped

1 pita bread cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Fattoush Dressing:

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic

21/2  tablespoons sumac

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

salt and cracked black pepper  to taste

Wash, shred, dice and chop the veggies.

Slice the pita in half length-wise and cut into cubes.   Heat the oil in a pan saute pita cubes until just browned.  Keep stirring so as not to over brown.

Drain in a plate lined with a paper towel.

in a jar or bowl, mix the dressing ingredients.  Shake or stir well and your dressing is ready to go!  Set aside until you are ready to serve the salad.  

Mix the veggies together in a large bowl, toss with as much of the dressing as you want and add the crunchy pita chips on top just before eating so it stays crisp, and does not get soggy from the dressing.