Fattoush is easily one of our family favorites. It is a really fresh and crunchy salad. Everything is chopped bite sized, and somehow the process of preparing is therapeutic! The focus on cutting each beautiful vegetable into a perfectly small and uniform shape brings me calm in my day.
Fattoush is different from most salads first because of the crunchy pitas that adorn the top, and more importantly because of its flavorful dressing that includes both sumac and pomegranate molasses. This unique combination of sour, sweet, and tart with the fresh herbs of parsley and mint bring a refreshing balance to the palate. I include purple cabbage and yellow peppers in my recipe because I love encouraging my children (and adults!) to eat as many colors from the rainbow in each meal! The rainbow of colors means you are getting a rich variety of phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals important for your health by boosting immunity and fighting free radicals.
Using fresh and crunch romaine that is fully dried from water is KEY. Crunchy Persian cucumbers and radishes add a mouthwatering and delicious crunch to this salad. Pomegranate seeds are a nice touch if you happen to make this salad while they are in season. The garnishing reflects the secret ingredient of pomegranate molasses in the dressing.
Enjoy!
Fattoush Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup romaine lettuce, sliced thin 1 head, washed & dried THOROUGHLY
- ½ c purple cabbage, sliced thin
- 3 cucumbers, sliced into half moons
- 3 radishes, sliced julienne
- 1 pepper, small diced
- 3 stems of green onion, sliced thin
- 1 bunch Parsley
- 1 tomato medium dice
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds optional
Dressing
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- Pinch pepper
- ½ tsp sumac
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 1 tsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 clove fresh garlic
Instructions
- Tear the pita chips and toss in a bowl with olive oil and optional sumac or z'aatar spice mix. Toast in the oven at 375 degrees for 3-5 minutes until golden.
- Chop all the veggies and place into salad bowl. It is best to put the chopped lettuce on the bottom and set the tomatoes to go last on top. I even wait until serving to add tomatoes, to ensure the salad stays nice and crunchy!
- Combine dressing ingredients and whisk together until emulsified.
- Toss the salad with the dressing. Add the crunchy pita chips on top and drizzle with some more pomegranate molasses and pomegranate seeds to garnish.
