Bright & Healthy Lebanese Fattoush Salad Recipe: How to Use That Leftover Pita Bread Salads Middle Eastern Recipes Vegetarian Lunch

Fattoush is a Lebanese salad made with fresh vegetables, a light flavorful vinaigrette, mint, sumac and toasted pita chips. Pita bread is a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine, and this "bread salad" is said to have originated as a way to use up leftover pita bread. If you ordered a fattoush salad in a local restaurant, you would probably get a mixture of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, radish and some sort of onion, and herbs like mint and parsley. As with many regional recipes, there are many variations of this salad from family to family.

This fattoush recipe has a healthy ingredient list: lemon, pomegranate molasses, garlic, salt, dried mint, sumac, extra virgin olive oil, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, radishes, pita bread, fresh mint leaves and freshly ground black pepper. If you have the time, homemade pita bread makes all the difference in this salad recipe. If not, buy the best pita bread you can find, and that goes for the olive oil, too. And don't skip the sumac! If you can't find this citrusy spice, ground coriander would be the best substitute.

To make the pita chips for this salad, toss cut up pita bread in a little olive oil and bake at 425 degrees F for about five to 10 minutes. You could also pan fry the pita chips in a skillet in olive oil over medium heat until golden and crisp, about five minutes. Season the pita chips with salt and black pepper as soon as they're done cooking.

Serve this Lebanese fattoush for lunch or as a side dish with dinner. 

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Cuisine: Lebanese
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 to 10 minutes (to cook pita chips)
Total Time: 20 to 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
• 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon dried mint, crushed
• 1 teaspoon sumac
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salad

• 1 head romaine lettuce, cut into pieces
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered or halved
• 1 small red onion, sliced thin
• 2 - 3 radishes, sliced thin
• toasted pita chips
• fresh mint leaves, julienned 
• 1 teaspoon dried mint, crushed
• 1 teaspoon sumac 
• freshly ground black pepper

Here's how to make it: 

1. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients until olive oil is emulsified. 
2. Toss the lettuce, tomatoes, onion, radishes and pita chips together in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the remaining dried mint, sumac, fresh mint leaves and freshly ground black pepper. 

Recipe cooking times and servings are approximate. Need to convert cooking and baking measurements? Here are some kitchen conversion charts. Here's how to submit your recipes to 30Seconds.

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