Fattoush (Lebanese Bread Salad)

By August our garden is embarrassingly overrun with tomatoes and cucumbers, more than any one family should reasonably need, and fattoush has become my answer to that particular problem. The kids fight over the crisp pita pieces before the salad is even fully tossed, which tells you everything about how this one goes over at our table.

Fattoush is sometimes called Lebanon’s poor man’s salad, built specifically to use up stale flatbread instead of throwing it away, tossed with whatever vegetables are in season and dressed with sumac for its bright, lemony tang. That instinct, using up what would otherwise be wasted and turning it into something people ask for by name, is exactly how my own grandmother ran her kitchen, an ocean and a very different pantry away.

If you already make my Portuguese tuna salad or my Spanish salad with seafood (recipes on the site), add this one to the rotation as a lighter, herbier option for the hottest weeks of summer.

Fattoush Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: 10 minutes · Total: 30 minutes · Servings: 6 servings · Calories: ~180 per serving

Ingredients

• For the salad:
• 2 pita breads, preferably a day or two old
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, for toasting the pita
• 3 Roma tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 English cucumber, cut into chunks
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 romaine heart, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• For the dressing:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sumac, plus more for garnish
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Split the pita breads open into rounds. Brush lightly with olive oil and either toast in a 375°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes until crisp and golden, or fry in a bit of oil in a skillet until crisp. Let cool, then break into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, scallions, bell pepper, romaine, parsley, and mint.
3. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, garlic, and sumac. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss well.
5. Add the crisped pita pieces and toss again gently. Do this right before serving so the pita stays crunchy rather than turning soggy.
6. Sprinkle extra sumac over the top and serve right away.

Recipe Notes

• Sumac is the tangy, lemony red spice that makes this salad taste like fattoush and not just a chopped salad. Find it at Middle Eastern grocery stores or in the international spice section of larger supermarkets, and it is easy to order online too.
• Add the pita at the very last minute. Sitting in the dressing for even 15 minutes turns it soft, which defeats the whole purpose of a salad built to use up stale bread.
• No pomegranate molasses? A teaspoon of honey plus an extra squeeze of lemon gets you a reasonable stand-in.
• This is one of the few salads on the site meant to be a full meal on a hot day. Add grilled chicken or chickpeas if you want more protein.