Fattoush Salad

This Fattoush Salad is incredible. It’s loaded with cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, lots of fresh herbs, crispy toasted pita croutons and dressed in a simple lemon sumac dressing. Yields about 4 to 6 servings.

I once fell in love with fattoush salad from a gas station.

Mr. Kabob, is located near my old hospital job and is in an actual Sunoco gas station. I know what you’re thinking, but the food is amazing and if you live in the Royal Oak/Berkley and/or surrounding area- you know this place. It’s just 45 minutes away from where I live now and well, that’s a long way for carry-out. But then there’s also La Marsa; which is 25 minutes away, equally delicious, not in a gas station and where we tend go on most occasions. Typically we order shawarma wraps and either a regular salad or the fattoush. If I’m being honest, the fried pita pieces are extremely hard to pass up on, so 99.9% of the time it’s fattoush for us.

On days that I have zero desire to drive all that way, just to calm my fattoush craving, I make my own. In my version, you’ll find the traditional (and quite possibly non-traditional) fixings you’d typically get in a really good fattoush salad. Things like crisp lettuce, tomato, red onion, radish, cucumber and lots of fresh herbs. And the dressing.

The lemon sumac dressing is what I quite possibly love most about a fattoush salad.

To Make This Fattoush Salad You Will Need:

for the fattoush:

• lettuce – I like using both romaine and red leaf lettuce.
• fresh herbs – I like parsley, dill and mint.
• tomatoes – Use what you like; cherry, campari, heirloom.
• red onion
• radish
• cucumber
• green onion
• pita – Homemade or store-bought.
• avocado oil spray

for the lemon sumac dressing:

• sumac (ground)
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• lemon juice
• olive oil

Toast The Pita Chips:

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Cut 6 to 8 ounces of pita into pieces and spray or toss with a little oil. Bake on the middle rack for 8 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Remove and let cool.

Make The Dressing:

Next, in a jar measure and add 1 tablespoon sumac, 1 grated clove of garlic, 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 cup good quality olive oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Secure a lid and shake well to combine. You will need to shake or stir as the oil and lemon juice will separate.

Build The Salad:

In a large bowl, add in (washed and spun dry) 1 head romaine and 1 head red leaf lettuce, a hand full each of chopped dill, parsley and mint, 1 bunch radish -thinly sliced, 3 sliced small Persian cucumbers, 1-1/2 to 2 cups cherry tomato halves, 1 small thinly sliced red onion and 4 sliced green onions.

Toss to combine.

Then crumble in the crispy pita pieces drizzle with about 1/2 the dressing to start (you can always add more later if needed).

Next toss the salad one last time until all the dressing coats everything nicely.

Pile high into a serving bowl and use salad tongs to serve the fattoush into bowl or on dinner plates.

Fattoush, fattoosh or fattush. No matter which way you spell it, there’s just so many good things going on in this one salad. I’m not sure what I love best,  the dressing, the crisp-yet-starting-to-absorb-the-dressing pita pieces, the herbs. This salad is addictive and will not disappoint.

Additional (Yet Not Traditional) Fattoush Add-ins:

• chicken: Add sliced za’atar grilled chicken thighs or grilled or air-fried chicken shawarma.
• cheese: Not traditional but crumbled feta is amazing in this salad.
• olives: pitted kalamata olives add a delicious briny flavor.
• toum:  (aka Lebanese garlic sauce) adds a punch of garlicky goodness.
• hummus: Hummus lends creaminess and earthy flavor.

Click Here for more scrumptious salad ideas!

Enjoy! And if you give this Fattoush Salad recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

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Yield: 6 servings

Fattoush Salad

This Fattoush Salad is incredible. It's loaded with cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, lots of fresh herbs, crispy toasted pita croutons and dressed in a simple lemon sumac dressing. Yields about 4 to 6 servings.

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 minutes mins

Total Time: 33 minutes mins

Ingredients

FOR THE PITAS:

• 6 to 8 ounces whole pitas, homemade or store-bought cut into wedges
• olive oil spray, or avocado oil spray

FOR THE LEMON SUMAC DRESSING:

• 1 tablespoon ground sumac
• 1 clove garlic, grated or squeezed through a garlic press or finely minced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup light olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

FOR THE FATTOUSH SALAD:

• 1 large head head romaine lettuce, chopped, washed and. spun-dry
• 1 large head red leaf lettuce, chopped, washed and. spun-dry
• 1 handful of each dill, mintand parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch radish, thinly sliced
• 3 persian cucumbers, sliced
• 1½ cups cherry tomato halves
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 green onions, sliced

Equipment

• OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner
• OXO Good Grips Hand-held Mandolin

Instructions 

MAKE THE PITA CHIPS:

• Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

  Cut the pita into pieces and spray or toss with a little oil. Bake on the middle rack for 8 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Remove and let cool.

MAKE THE LEMON SUMAC DRESSING:

• in a jar or bowl, measure and add sumac, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Secure a lid and shake well to combine. You will need to shake or stir as the oil and lemon juice will separate.

MAKE THE SALAD:

• In a large bowl, add in the chopped lettuce, herbs, sliced radish, cucumbers, tomatoes, red. and green onion. Use tongs to gentle toss and combine.
• Then crumble in the crispy pita pieces and drizzle with about 1/2 the dressing to start (you can always add more later if needed).Use salad tongs to carefully toss the salad in the dressing to coat.
• Divide salad into bowls and enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on SimplyScratch.com should only be used as a general guideline.

Serving: 1g, Calories: 203kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Sodium: 345mg, Potassium: 602mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 13253IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 78mg, Iron: 3mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Salads

Cuisine: Middle Eastern