Fattoush, a popular salad in the Levant with origins in Lebanon. The salad is best compared to the Italian Panzanella. It is vegetarian and uses pita bread. An abundance of fresh, crunchy vegetables, a fresh dressing, with the option to be topped with cheese and then the pita breads that absorb all the flavors like a sponge. Making fattoush is a matter of putting tasty vegetables together and marinating that mixture. The Arabic word "fattoush" means something like "to crush." The crushed tomatoes and other vegetables form the basis for fattoush. Serve it on a large platter, add some cutlery, possibly a little more sauce and attack!
Ingredients:
• 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 60 ml lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 6-8 tomatoes, in various shapes and sizes, sliced
• 3-4 snack cucumbers, roughly chopped (or finely grated on the mandoline)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red onion, chopped
• Half teaspoon sumac
• 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon mint, finely chopped
• 2 pita breads, cut into triangles (or 4 small pita breads) plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
• Mix the olive oil, garlic and lemon juice in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper; this is the dressing
• Place tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion on a plate or bowl, sprinkle with the sumac and drizzle with 60ml of the dressing. Let it sit for a while to let the flavors infuse.
• Dip the pita bread in the olive oil, add salt and place the bread on a baking tray of a preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes at 220 degrees.
• Place the pita triangles on the dish, sprinkle with parsley and serve the rest of the dressing separately.
Enjoy!