The Levant and Anatolia · Volume 03, The Pestle, the Pantry and the Mezze Table
Fattoush
Lebanon
Illustration
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Researched
- 8 sources cited
Fattoush is a Lebanese bread salad: flatbread torn and crisped, then tossed at the last moment through cucumber, tomato, radish and herbs, and dressed with lemon, olive oil, sumac and pomegranate molasses.
As tradition built it
Serves 4 to 6. 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 flatbreads, torn into pieces
- for frying oil, for frying the bread (or toast it dry)
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 2 to 3 tomatoes, diced
- ½ cup purslane, if available, or watercress
- 4 radishes, sliced
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- ½ cup parsley, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh mint
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 120ml olive oil
- 1 tbsp sumac
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Method
- Fry or toast the torn flatbread pieces until crisp and golden, then set aside to cool.
- Combine the cucumber, tomato, purslane or watercress, radish, spring onion, parsley and mint in a large bowl.
- Dress with lemon juice, olive oil, a generous amount of sumac and a little pomegranate molasses, salt and pepper, tossing well.
- Add the crisped bread only at the very last moment before serving, tossing briefly to coat it lightly in the dressing without letting it turn soggy.
What a modern chef changes
The bread's crispness protected as the dish's defining texture
No rung; a timing discipline specific to this dish
Method
- Toast rather than deep-fry the bread if serving within the hour, since a lighter toast holds its structure against the dressing longer than a heavily oil-fried piece, which can turn soft faster once dressed.
- Dress the vegetables and hold the bread separately until the absolute last moment, plating or tossing only immediately before the dish reaches the table.
- Weight the sumac generously, since it is doing real acid and colour work in this dish, not a garnish sprinkle.