Fattoush
Fattush
Region: Arab Levant, Lebanon
Category: Salads
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy

Fattoush (or fattush) is a Palestinian-Lebanese salad of pita bread and greens. Arab cooks use stale bread for making fattat (plural) or fatta (singular). Fatta refers to a family of Arab culinary preparations in the Levant in which pieces of stale, toasted, or fresh flatbread (also known as fatta) are crumbled and used as the foundation of a prepared dish. These preparations developed quite naturally in the Arab world because much of the bread that is consumed there is flatbread, a bread that dries out quickly. This famous bread salad called fattoush (and deriving from the word fatta), made with toasted pieces of khubz 'arabi (Arabic flatbread or pita bread), cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions, parsley, baqli (a word meaning any wild green, for example, chickweed), and lettuce, is also a member of this class of dishes. I'm surprised that this salad is not as well known as tabbouleh in this country. It's less time consuming and easier to make and quite nice. In Lebanon, it is made with a variety of greens, but especially romaine, cucumbers, parsley, purslane or watercress, scallions, mint, tomatoes, and, most importantly, and fried ripped-up pieces of Arabic flatbread.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 10 servings
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 pound ripe tomatoes, very coarsely chopped

5 scallions, sliced 1/2 inch thick

6 large radishes or 10 French breakfast radishes, cut in half

1 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and sliced into half moons

1 bunch arugula, washed, dried, and shredded

8 large leaves romaine lettuce, shredded

1 handful fresh mint leaves, chopped if large

Leaves from 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

1 bunch watercress or chickweed, washed, dried, and sliced

1 tablespoon sumac

3 small Arabic pita bread loaves (flatbread), quartered, separated, and toasted or fried (see Note) until crispy

1. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil.

2. In a large bowl, toss all the vegetables and greens together. Sprinkle on the sumac, toasted or fried pita bread, and pour in the dressing. Toss well and serve immediately. Do not prepare this salad before you intend on eating it.

Note:  Preheat 2 cups olive oil in a skillet to 375 degrees F. Fry the bread several pieces at a time, without crowding, until golden, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.

Posted: 10/21/2008