Fattoush salad recipe (middle eastern bread salad)

Fattoush is a bread salad made of toasted or fried bread mixed with a variety of greens and vegetables. It was created as a way to use up stale bread and seasonal vegetables but transformed into a popular dish in the middle east and a staple of the Lebanese mezza. Fattoush is a great example of the arabic or middle eastern cuisine, a lot of fresh vegetables, colors and flavors and definitely no shortage on bright flavors and spices.

The secret to a great fattoush is the dressing. You can use whatever vegetables and greens you have available but it is the dressing and the addition of pita bread is what transforms your every day salad into an extra ordinary fattoush.Unlike tabbouleh which is a finely chopped herb based salad, fattoush tends to be coarsely chopped and it is more about a variety of vegetables that greens. The recipe I am sharing today is the way I usually make it but you can add other vegetables like radishes and green onions .

Fattoush

1/2 red pepper chopped

1/2 yellow pepper chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

2 cucumbers chopped

5-6 lettuce leaves torn by hand

1 carrot chopped

2 pita bread cut into squares

Salad dressing..

( recipe adapted from delicious bite)

4 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

4 tablespoons cider vinegar

juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon dried mint

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sumac

1 clove garlic minced (optional)

1 onion cut into slices (optional)

Directions

Mix all the dressing ingredient (I usually do it in a jar) and set aside.

Cut all the vegetables into similar size pieces

Fry or toast the bread

Toss the vegetables with the bread and dressing immediately before serving the fattoush or else the bread will go soggy

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59 Comments

by Sawsan@ Chef in disguise on September 5, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Salad, Vegetarian

Posted by Sawsan@ Chef in disguise on September 5, 2011

http://chefindisguise.com/2011/09/05/fattoush-middle-eastern-bread-salad/

59 Comments

tonettejoyce
/ October 22, 2012

I will surely try this…we are big with salads and I discovered pomegranate molasses a couple of years ago and use it fro dressings often. The toasted pita sounds wonderful.
Thanks!

Reply
- Sawsan@ Chef in disguise
  / October 24, 2012
  
  This is one of my all time favorite salads Tonette, it is a wonderful combination of colors and textures. I love pomegranate molasses too and it really shines in this salad dressing
  
  Reply
Charles
/ August 1, 2012

I think I have heard of this before and always thought it sounded amazing (I’m so addicted to bread!) – I believe my wife was even mentioning it recently. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful salad Sawsan… Makes me want to try it so much right now!

Reply
- Sawsan@ Chef in disguise
  / August 2, 2012
  
  I am so addicted to bread too! I am glad the recipe came in a good time. If you do give it a go I would love to hear what you think of it
  
  Reply
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
/ July 31, 2012

I love Fattoush, this is a perfect summer salad!

Reply
- Sawsan@ Chef in disguise
  / July 31, 2012
  
  Thank you Laura, glad you like it
  
  Reply
Suzanne
/ July 30, 2012

Looks like a great salad and I like the dressing, a must try!

Reply
- Sawsan@ Chef in disguise
  / July 30, 2012
  
  Thank you Suzanne, I hope you will enjoy it when you give it a try
  
  Reply
rsmacaalay
/ July 30, 2012

Really nice salad, the pita looks so crispy on those. Yum!

Reply
- Sawsan@ Chef in disguise
  / July 31, 2012
  
  Thank you Raymund glad you like it
  
  Reply
Good Cooks
/ September 8, 2011

Looks like I’m missing a lot, refreshing salad never missed on my daily ramadan table. Thank you Sawsan.

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 9, 2011
  
  Thank you Samah
  
  Reply
honesttofoodness
/ September 7, 2011

wow this looks divine! Nice way to give a salad some texture!

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 7, 2011
  
  yes! the bread adds texture, color and flavorthank you for stopping by
  
  Reply
typefashion
/ September 7, 2011

I love fattoush too ! I used to live in the middle east, going to try my own salad now ! thanks for the recipe!

xoxo

http://www.typefashion.wordpress.com

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 7, 2011
  
  Thank you for stopping by and for your comment
  
  Reply
amy41143
/ September 7, 2011

This looks fantastic! I have never heard of fattoush before, but I love all of the ingredients you have listed so I have to try it!

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 7, 2011
  
  it is a refreshing salad with wonderful textures..I really hope you’ll enjoy it
  
  Reply
Karen
/ September 6, 2011

My husband loves fattoush. When we are at our home in New Hampshire and he goes out to lunch, that is what he orders. He must eat it at least three or four times a week.

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 7, 2011
  
  I order fattoush all the time too..I hope your husband will like this recipe
  
  Reply
Nami | Just One Cookbook
/ September 6, 2011

Love this crunchy bread salad! And the dressing sounds really delicious too. Btw, I LOOOVE your new look on your blog (sorry I’ve been absent here). The pictures on header made me hungry already.

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  Thank you so much Nami..I appreciate your sweet comment
  
  Reply
chicaandaluza
/ September 6, 2011

Fabulous – isn´t it great how we all have different ways of serving up our salad vegetables?! Am going to look for pomegranate molasses when I go to London next month as have never seen them here. Hungry now…

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  I love exploring all the different salads out there..every country has its twist on good old salad
  
  Reply
Angie's Recipes
/ September 6, 2011

The salad looks simply mouthwatering!

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  Thank you kindly
  
  Reply
realfunfood
/ September 6, 2011

I love everything about this recipe. So fresh!

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  Thank you
  
  Reply
Manu
/ September 6, 2011

I love fattoush! In the last couple of weeks I have been wanting to eat Middle Eastern food so much! I love it! I had to go out today and buy more Tahini!!! hehehe This is another great recipe… I will surely try it!

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 7, 2011
  
  hehehe I love middle eastern food too..I know I make recipes from all over the globe but middle eastern has a special place
  
  Reply
Maureen
/ September 6, 2011

I’ve only ever eaten this once and I loved it! I will definitely be trying this one. I hope my dish is as beautiful as the one in your photos.

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 7, 2011
  
  You are too kind Maureen..I hope my recipe turns out like the one you loved
  
  Reply
Tandy
/ September 6, 2011

I love sumac and I have pomegranate concentrate in my fridge, so now I have some inspiration for supper

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  I’m always impressed with the divesity of ingredients you have Tandy
  
  Reply
ambrosiana
/ September 6, 2011

I really love fattoush and this recipe is just wonderful! I am so excited about the dressing!! It is brilliant!

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- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  The dressing is the best part I have tried SO MANY dressing recipes but once I found this one I have not even looked at another recipe
  
  Reply
Kristy
/ September 6, 2011

This looks great! We were going to make this when we were cooking recipes from Egypt and we never got around to it. I’m glad I get to see what it looks like though. We may have to revisit the Middle East.

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- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  You should definetly revisit the middle east there are so many recipes worth trying..
  
  Reply
Tanvi
/ September 6, 2011

This is one salad I need to try at home really soon! Looks so colorful & that dressing sounds so so yum & full of flavors!

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  The dressing is the best part Tanvi..I really hope you’ll like it
  
  Reply
Asiya @ Chocolate & Chillies
/ September 6, 2011

This looks great! Can I substitute brown sugar for the sumac?

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  Thank you Asiya..sumac is sour not sweet so I wouldn’t recommend replacing it with brown sugar..if you don’t have it, you can skip it
  
  Reply
JamieAnne
/ September 6, 2011

Looks like a great salad! I’ll have to look for pomegranate molasses, I’ve never seen it before.

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  it is a combination of sweet and sour and it takes the dressing to the next level Jamie..I hope you can find it
  
  Reply
Dee at Deelicious Sweets
/ September 6, 2011

This salad looks so good! I love the mix of bread and salad. Your dressing is herbalicious!

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- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  I love mixing bread and salad too
  
  Reply
Mia's Domain
/ September 6, 2011

Great looking salad!

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- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  Thank yo Mia
  
  Reply
Ann
/ September 6, 2011

What a beautiful recipe…so bright and colorful! The dressing sounds amazing! It reminds me of Panzanella – Italian Bread Salad – and one of my favorites!

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- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  I like panzanella but love fattoush more
  
  Reply
Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide
/ September 6, 2011

That salad dressing sounds wonderful. Katherine keeps saying we need to dry some of our fresh mint for the winter too!

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  I use dried mint in so many dishes…I really think that in some dishes it is even better than fresh “only some dishes” and that makes it worth having
  
  Reply
Ginger
/ September 6, 2011

Looks great!!

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  Thanks
  
  Reply
Cavities & Cravings
/ September 5, 2011

Fattoush is MY FAVORITE! I am Egyptian and my grandma used to make it for us regularly. I’ve never been able to get the dressing right. I will trying this!

Reply
- thefooddoctor
  / September 6, 2011
  
  I know what you mean…I tried a million dressing recipes and I think this is the one…I can’t wait to hear what you think
  
  Reply