Description
This Fattoush salad recipe is fresh, light, and flavorful, made with chopped vegetables, fresh herbs, and toasty pita chips in a tangy sumac dressing, all piled over a creamy yogurt-tahini sauce. (Adapted from Spice, by Ana Sortun)
Ingredients
Pita Chips
- 2 x 6 to 8-inch thin pocket bread- see notes
- Spray olive oil
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (or use zaatar!)
Salad
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups small Turkish or Persian cucumber, cut into half-moons
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 5 radishes, sliced or quartered
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped, more for garnish
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped, more for garnish
- 1/8 cup fresh mint leaves, torn, more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- Zest from one small lemon
- 2 teaspoons sumac (divided)
- 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups lettuce, chopped into small bite-sized pieces (sturdy lettuces work best: romaine, little gem, endive, radicchio or a mix)
- lemon juice to taste, if needed
Yogurt Tahini Sauce
- 1 cup plain yogurt ( if using non-fat or low-fat, add a splash of olive oil) or vegan yogurt
- 1/4 cup tahini paste (mix it first)
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- generous pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300F
-
- Make the pita chips. To make the toasted pita chips, cut the pita pocket in half, then pull apart the pocket so it is just one layer. You can cut them into triangles or leave them whole and break them apart after they are toasted. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Brush or spray with olive oil (just the top side is fine) and sprinkle with sesame seeds and salt. Bake in the middle of the oven until crisp and perfectly golden, 10-15 minutes. The time will depend on the thickness of the pita so watch carefully. You’ll need two cups of pita chips for this recipe. Feel free to do this 1-2 days ahead.
- Chop the veggies and herbs and place them all in a large bowl ( leave out the lettuce and pita). Add the dried mint, olive oil, vinegar, lemon zest, half of the sumac, and the pomegranate molasses. Season with salt and pepper and toss well.
- Make the yogurt -tahini sauce. Whisk the yogurt, tahini, garlic, lemon, and pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Combine. When ready to serve, add the chopped lettuce and toasted pita chips to the salad and toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt and lemon to taste.
- To serve, spoon a few tablespoons of yogurt tahini sauce onto a plate and swirl with the back of a spoon. Top with a mound of Fattoush Salad. Sprinkle with more sumac fresh herbs, and drizzle olive oil around the plate if you like. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe Notes:
This recipe is all about the pita bread. If you have access to a Middle Eastern market, they have large round, very thin pita bread in their freezer section (I always stock up and freeze to have on hand). Otherwise, seek out pocket pita bread, whole wheat is fine, too. Split it apart so you have very thin pieces. Do not use Greek style pita, which is thick and fluffy and doesn’t have a pocket.
Leftovers: Salad is best eaten fresh, but if there are leftovers, I highly recommend removing the pita chips as they will get soggy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup salad with 2 1/2 tablespoons Yogurt Sauce
- Calories: 264
- Sugar: 7.9 g
- Sodium: 551.9 mg
- Fat: 20.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 7.9 g
- Cholesterol: 6.2 mg