Levantine Fattoush Salad
With toasted pita bread and a bright, lemony dressing, this crisp Fattoush Salad recipes is sure to bring a ray of sunshine to any spring or summer table.
Fattoush: A Bread Salad
Fattoush: A Bread SaladCarb lovers rejoice! We have a salad just for you today!
Fattoush is a bread salad from the eastern Mediterranean, Levant region (Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey). What makes this salad different from any other bread salad is its use of toasted pita bread and the lemony Middle Eastern spice, sumac.
The word fattoush gets its name from the word "fatta" which is the term for Middle Eastern dishes that use stale or day-old flatbread. The toasted pita bread in fattoush makes such a fun alternative to traditional croutons. We love this salad as a way to use up our homemade pita bread.
What is Sumac Spice?
If you don't do a lot of Middle Eastern cooking, there is one ingredient in this salad that you might not have in your pantry: sumac.
Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice with a slightly lemony flavor that enhances the dressing for this salad and elevates these pita bread croutons to something beyond incredible. (If you'd like to learn more about this unique spice, we dive more into what sumac is in this article.)
If you love lemony brightness in recipes, it is well worth giving sumac a try. It's sure to become a new favorite!
Fattoush Salad
With toasted pita bread and a bright, lemony dressing, this crisp Fattoush Salad recipes is sure to bring a ray of sunshine to any spring or summer table.
Ingredients
For the Pita Croutons
- 3 pita bread rounds, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2-3 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sumac
For the Salad
- 1 large head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
- 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
- ½ seedless cucumber, sliced
- 2-3 green onions, sliced
- ½ c fresh mint, coarsely chopped
- ½ c fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
- 3-4 radishes, sliced thin
- 1 green pepper, diced
For the Dressing
- 2 lemons, juiced (roughly ½ c juice)
- ⅓ c olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon sumac
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Place the cut pita bread on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with sumac. Place the baking sheet in the oven and toast until golden and lightly crisped, 5-8 minutes. Remove the pita croutons from the oven and set aside.
- While the bread is toasting and cooling, wash and chop your vegetables. Place all the chopped vegetables in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix together lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, and sumac. Pour the dressing into a serving container.
- Immediately before serving, top the salad with the toasted pita croutons and toss to combine the ingredients.
Notes
This salad is traditionally dressed before serving, but we like to let our guests dress their own salad. The choice is yours. If dressing the salad for serving, do so immediately before serving, as the dressing with start to soften the pita croutons.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5Serving Size:
5 - 6 peopleAmount Per Serving: Calories: 336
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
I made this Fattoush salad with your Shish Taouk recipe and some Saudi champagne and had an amazing middle eatern dinner! Thanks for posting such easy and tasty recipes!
We're so glad you enjoyed the recipes Amna! Thanks for letting us know how they turned out!
Fattoush is a definite favorite salad of mine - looks great!
Thanks Caroline!
I've always seen fattoush on the menu but never knew what was in it. Next time, I'll just order it. Better yet, just MAKE IT with your recipe.
It is definitely a fun salad to try!
I love salads and yours is beautiful
Thank you Amy!
I love this take on bread salad and I bet the dressing with sumac is delicous.
Thanks Eileen! The Sumac does make this dressing something special!
Loving the look of this salad, it looks so tasty. Sumac is something I have yet to try
Thanks! Sumac really is worth giving a try, particularly if you like lemon.
This looks delicious. I'm not familiar with sumac but if I can find it, I'd love to try this salad. So fresh!
Thanks Renee! Keep an eye out! It's a fun ingredient to have in your pantry!
I need to pick up some sumac! Your salad looks wonderful!
Thanks Liz!
Bread, lemon, spice, sumac and fresh vegetables? Okay! Beautiful salad. I just love Fattoush Salad. Beautiful.
Thank you so much Kim!