A fattoush salad is sensational with almost any meal, some might think this to be an exaggeration, but not in my eyes!
And I don’t think people eat enough of it.
I’m not a fan of the wedge of iceberg lettuce (which I don’t really consider a form of lettuce) with a big dollop of ranch or blue cheese dressing that masquerades as salad.
What I am talking about is a mix of fresh tomatoes, cucumber, onion, romaine lettuce, and any number of other fresh produce.
Something that resembles a fattoush salad in fact!
When I was a kid growing up in Jordan, romaine lettuce was my junk food.
I know you are wondering whatever can I mean by that.
I say that tongue in cheek.
But there really wasn’t much in the way of junk food when I grew up.
When I would go on a school outing we would take a school bus, and drive to one of the parks in Jordan which usually took at least an hour if not more.
Often at our destination there would be someone selling romaine lettuce on a pushcart.
We would all buy a head of lettuce and chomp away while we were on our bus ride home, enjoying every bite, as we sang together all the songs we knew.
Every time I chop the romaine for a fattoush salad I think of those days.
The lettuce was so sweet, juicy and crispy.
So yummy!
This of course is a wonderful time of year for salad, vegetables are at their freshest, and very alive looking.
How can anyone resist?
The best, best thing I like to do, and I would recommend it if you can too, is to pick things from the garden as and when you need to make a salad, using whatever is ripe and whatever you have a taste for.
Nothing tastes better than something freshly picked from the garden.
Now I realize that it isn’t always feasible, one, to have a garden, and two, to grow all the foods that you love.
Of course that should not get in the way of making a healthy salad.
Get the healthiest vegetables you can find and use those, just don’t skip the salad!
My salad today was made using onion, fresh tomatoes, fennel, and celery, with olive oil, lemon, and a little bit of salt.
With the exception of the onion everything is from the garden in the valley where it is a lot warmer than Amman at the moment.
I made a lamb stew with rice for lunch this afternoon and this salad should go well with it.
Fattoush salad is similar in some ways to a panzanella salad in that it uses bread as one of the ingredients.
This originated as a way to use any leftover bread from the day before
Crunchy bread acts as a great way to soak up all the juices.
Think croutons.
By the way, feel free to modify this salad.
If you have a ripe vegetable, or favorite vegetable that is not in it, go ahead and chop it up and throw it in.
Chances are it will be a great addition.
Food should be all about the things that you love to eat, as well as what you have on hand.
So mix it up whenever you can, and enjoy a lovely salad!
Fattoush Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
For the Dressing
- ⅓ cup Olive Oil
- 3 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Garlic Clove pressed
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Sumac
Instructions
- Chop all vegetables and place in a bowl. Mix.
- In a separate bowl mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and sumac.
- Break toasted pita into small regular pieces and mix in with salad before serving.
- Just before serving, pour dressing onto the salad and mix well.
