Fattoush Salad

This crisp crunchy salad is a great way to use up those last one or two pitta breads that you might have left over. Bake them in the oven until crisp and then finish with a drizzle of olive oil and za’atar spices – a popular spice mix made with thyme, oregano and our favourite sesame seeds.
Serves
Serves 4-6
Total Time
50 Minutes Including prep time
Ingredients
1 small iceberg lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 green pepper, halved, cored, deseeded and diced
1⁄2 bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced
1⁄4 cucumber, diced
1⁄4 cucumber, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
Handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
For the dressing
4 tbsp of olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp of ground sumac
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pitta bread croûtons
2 pitta breads or shop bought
2–3 tbsp of olive oil
Up to 2 tsp za’atar spice blend if made with dried herbs or 2 tbsp if made with fresh herbs
Method
Step 1

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas mark 2.

Step 2

Cut the pitta breads into 2cm/3⁄4in squares, scatter over a baking sheet, then drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the za’atar. Bake for 25–30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes or so, turning the squares and moving them around so that they all dry out evenly.

Step 3

Meanwhile, put all the salad ingredients into a large salad bowl and toss together gently.

Step 4

Put all the dressing ingredients into a small jug and stir together with a fork. Alternatively, put everything in a jam jar, screw on the lid and shake to mix.

Step 5

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently together. Sprinkle over the hot croûtons and serve immediately.

Step 6

For the spice blend, toast 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds in a dry frying pan until just beginning to brown, then pound with a pestle in a mortar. Mix in 1 teaspoon each of dried thyme and oregano and 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt. This mix will keep in a jam jar in the fridge for up to a month.

Hummus to Halva: Recipes from a Levantine Kitchen by Ronen Givon & Christian Mouysset, published by Pavilion Books. 

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