Fattoush
The tart, faintly purple tang doesn't come from vinegar or extra lemon — it's sumac, a ground dried berry, dusted over the top right before serving.
Chopped cucumber, tomato, radish, and romaine are tossed with torn bread fried or toasted until crisp, dressed in olive oil, lemon, and pomegranate molasses, and finished with a heavy dusting of sumac. Beirut's produce markets and mezze restaurants keep it on the table as a way to use up the last of the week's bread.
What is Fattoush?
Fattoush is a Lebanese salad of chopped lettuce, tomato, cucumber and radish with herbs and torn pieces of pita that have been toasted or fried until crisp. It is dressed with olive oil, lemon and often pomegranate molasses, and finished with a generous dusting of sumac, the ground dried red berry that gives it its tart, slightly fruity tang.
It belongs to the Levantine tradition of using up stale flatbread, like fatteh, and is eaten across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Its exact origin is not certain, and the name is generally thought to come from the Arabic root fatt, meaning to crush or break into pieces, as with torn bread. In Lebanon it is a regular part of the mezze table and family meals.
How to make fattoush with a sumac and pomegranate molasses dressing
Ingredients
- For the pita: 2 large pita breads (about 150 g in total), 3 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt
- For the salad: 1 romaine lettuce heart or small cos lettuce (about 250 g), 2 firm tomatoes (about 250 g), 1 cucumber (about 250 g), 5 radishes, 4 spring onions, 15 g flat-leaf parsley leaves, 10 g mint leaves, a handful of purslane if you can find it
- For the dressing: 4 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (shop-bought), 1 garlic clove, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dried mint, black pepper, plus 1 tablespoon sumac and a little extra for dusting
Method
- Heat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan, gas 4). Tear or cut the pita into pieces about 3 cm across. Toss with the 3 tablespoons olive oil and the ½ teaspoon salt, spread on a baking tray and bake for 10–12 minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp. Cool on the tray, as they crisp further as they cool.
- Make the dressing. Crush the garlic with the ¼ teaspoon salt into a paste, then whisk it in a small bowl or shake in a jar with the lemon juice, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, dried mint, pepper and the tablespoon of sumac. Taste: it should be sharp and slightly sweet-sour.
- Cut the lettuce into 2 cm strips. Dice the tomatoes and cucumber into 1.5 cm pieces, slice the radishes thinly and the spring onions into rounds, and roughly chop the herbs and purslane.
- Put the vegetables and herbs in a large bowl. Whisk the dressing again and pour it over, then toss.
- Add the cooled pita pieces last, toss once, and dust the top with more sumac. Serve straight away.
Tips
- To keep it crisp, add the bread at the last moment and serve at once. Fattoush that waits turns soggy, though some people like it that way.
- Make sure the pita is properly dry and golden before it goes in. Bread that is only just toasted softens quickly.
- Pomegranate molasses is a thick, sour, dark syrup sold in Middle Eastern shops and many supermarkets. It is a shop-bought ingredient; if you do not have it, for each tablespoon, use 1 tablespoon more lemon juice plus 1 teaspoon of honey or sugar, which gives the sweet-sour balance but not the deep fruity flavour.
- Purslane (baqleh in Arabic) is a traditional ingredient but hard to find outside the Middle East. Extra parsley, mint or a few leaves of watercress give a similar fresh green bite.
Regional versions
- Some cooks fry the pita pieces in shallow oil instead of baking them, which gives a richer, bubblier crunch, but baking is easier and less greasy.
- Pomegranate seeds are sometimes scattered over the salad in season.
- Recipes vary by family and region: some add green pepper, some leave out the pomegranate molasses and rely on lemon and sumac alone.
- Add grilled chicken or halloumi to turn it into a main course; that is a modern addition, not the traditional dish.
Questions
What is fattoush made of?
Chopped lettuce, tomato, cucumber, radish and herbs, with crisp toasted or fried pita bread, olive oil, lemon, sumac and often pomegranate molasses.
What is sumac?
A ground dried red berry with a tart, lemony flavour. It is sold in most supermarkets and Middle Eastern shops, and gives fattoush its tang.
How do you keep fattoush from going soggy?
Toast the pita until properly crisp, and add it just before serving. Dress and toss everything else first, and eat straight away.
Is fattoush vegan?
Yes, traditional fattoush contains no animal products. It contains wheat from the pita, so it is not gluten-free.
