If you were to ask me what I hoped to improve upon in my diet, my answer would always be: to consume less carbs and more salads. I can’t even begin to explain how amazing I feel when I’m super veggie heavy and light on carbs. My mind is clearer, which is crazy because it’s one of those things you don’t actually know you are experiencing… also known as mind fog. And then when it’s not there, it’s such a huge smack in the face… eat yo vegetables lady, you feel so good, don’t eat that half loaf of sourdough (ahem, yaaa).
For me though, I need variety. I can’t eat the same salad constantly, and salads seem to be one of those things I’m even more picky about (of course, because otherwise life would be too easy). I have an entire Pinterest board, affectionately called Salad Me Baby to accumulate options and inspiration to get the salad bus a moving. The one thing I always have to tell myself is that salad’s aren’t boring anymore. They don’t have to be a green, a couple thinly sliced veggies, typically onion and carrot, maybe some cucumber, + croutons and an enormous amount of dressing. You know, the amount of dressing an eight year old would use – because we are all just trying to pretend we are making a healthy decision.
Salads now though have roasted veggies, grains and/or in this case don’t even have a main green. Whaaaat? Yep! Let me introduce you to my little Middle Eastern salad… Fattoush.
Fattoush is typically a bread salad but, as mentioned above, little me is trying the veggie to carb ratio to lean slightly more towards the veg. And the pitas (aka the bread of the bread salad) are commonly toasted or even fried. Here we just give them a little grill action to crisp up but not be sharp enough to destroy the roof of your mouth. Because seriously pita chips + the roof of my mouth, makes it look like a battle for good and evil went down. Does anyone else have that problem, where pitas just scratch the hell out of the roof of your mouth? Even croutons can put up a fight.
Okay, so to avoid said war, pitas for this version are grilled as mentioned. However, you can totally buy pita chips or make your own, but you’ve been warned.
The rest of the ingredients = fresh veggies commonly found in American salads that have just been roughly chopped. The dressing is a light vinaigrette flavored with garlic, parsley and sumac. Never heard of sumac? It’s a light balanced, slightly tart seasoning that is commonly seen in zatar, a rather recent popular spice blend here in the States, that is also from the Middle East. I buy my sumac from Penzey’s Spices, but Amazon has this sumac with great reviews, and we all loooove Amazon.
This salad makes two lunch size portions, or four side salads. If you are interested in making it heartier, you can always up the veggies, and add in sliced radishes or a couple handfuls of chopped romaine. The dressing coats everything really well and will leave drippings in your bowl, so you could easily add more and not need to make another batch of dressing. As with any salad, I would start with 1/2 the dressing first, toss, and evaluate, working towards the amount you personally desire. You can always add more dressing in, but wiping off veggies doesn’t really sound like how you would want to spend part of your day.
**Oh hey! If you make any of Noming’s recipes, be sure to snap a photo and share them on twitter or instagram with #nomingthrulife so that the rest of us Nom’ers can see them too! I mean you would only make my day and all if you did!**
- For the dressing:
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
- salt & pepper to taste
- For the salad:
- 4 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 2 medium/large heirloom tomatoes, seeded & chopped
- 1/2 medium red onion, halved & thinly sliced
- 2 pitas or naans, grilled and torn or chopped
- optional: sliced radish and or chopped romaine
- For the dressing:
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk all ingredients until well combined, and set aside.
- For the salad:
- In a large mixing bowl, toss all ingredients together except pitas. When ready to serve toss salad with dressing and top with torn pita pieces.
Anything that can be served with naan is an instant favorite of mine! haha This salad looks so delicious! So pretty too!
Right!? Carb me up! Thanks Ashley
Yummmo!! Look at those pretty coloured veg! A nice bit of brightness this time of year!
Doesn’t winter just seem like forever with all it’s cool tones and murky skies. This salad sure does combat that with it’s color, you are so right with that one. Thanks Laura!!
Yum! Just saw this on Pinterest and it reminded me that I used to make Fattoush salad and it was so good. Thanks for reminding me. I am so going to try out your recipe.
Happy to provide a little reminder
Enjoy!!
Omggg this looks wayy too good! I actually have a very strong aversion to salads but this looks GREAT and will definitely be making an appearance
Thanks Anne! Let’s just call it a veggie bowl then
and no one has to know.
Wow just tried your recepy I love it, so fresh. It’s a winner, thanks for sharing
Yay! Thanks for giving it a go Celine. I’m so happy you enjoyed it
I bet some chick peas would taste good with this plus add a little protein!
Go for it! I can see them definitely being a winning addition here.
Let me know if you try it.
Can Zaatar be used to substitute the sumac? If not, what Isa viable substitute?
Hi Barbara! You, of course, can try za’atar, it does contain sumac but of course other spices as well so it won’t be the same (naturally). But as there is no real substitution for sumac if that’s all you have, well you’ve got to work with what you’ve got. If you can manage to get your hands on sumac though (such as through Amazon.com, you’ll find it linked to an option in the recipe) I’d recommend it if you are looking to try fattoush in all its glory.
Hope that helps Barbara – let me know if you give the za’atar a try!
Can you use olive oil instead of grapeseed oil?
Yep, if you are an olive oil fan, go for it!