This classic Middle Eastern salad is one of my all-time faves and always tastes especially delicious this time of year, now that fresh greens, herbs and veggies are starting to come back in season. While traditional Fattoush salad recipes vary from country to country in the Middle Easter, the signature ingredient here is always the same — leftover pita scraps (or fatteh, which means “crumbs” in Arabic), which are toasted or fried to give this salad its extra-delicious heartiness and crunch. Fattoush is also meant to be a clean-out-the-crisper-drawer sort of situation, typically featuring a base of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, plus any extra veggies that you may have on hand. It’s typically tossed with a simple lemon dressing and tons of fresh mint, whose flavors brighten up this salad beautifully.
Fattoush Salad Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this fattoush salad recipe:
- Pita bread, of course! We’ll toast it up with olive oil and salt to make croutons for the salad. Leftover homemade pita is great here, but store-bought works well too.
- Romaine lettuce – It creates the salad’s crisp, fresh base.
- Persian cucumbers – I love them here because they have thin skin and nearly undetectable seeds. If you can’t find them, English cucumber is a good substitute. Otherwise, peeled, seeded regular cucumber works too.
- Cherry tomatoes – They add sweetness, acidity, and juicy texture.
- Red radishes – For peppery crunch!
- Red onion – It gives the salad a savory bite. Thinly slice it to avoid overwhelming the other flavors.
- Fresh mint and parsley leaves – Don’t skip them! They add cooling, aromatic depth to this simple recipe.
Zoolbia va Bamieh (Tulumba Tatlisi)
