Fattoush

This is the recipe for you if you are looking to take a side dish to a barbecue this summer, or fancy a light lunch full of flavours. This is a Middle Eastern salad using pitta bread and lots of fresh vegetables. You can get creative with the vegetables – just use whatever is in the fridge! The dressing uses sumac which is a spice which you may not have come across – it is a dried, crushed berry used in Middle Eastern cookery – you may have seen it scattered on the top of dishes of hummus. 

Ingredients

For the salad

1 pitta bread, toasted and cut into strips

2 vine ripened tomatoes, cubed

quarter cucumber, cubed

half pepper, cubed

handful black olives

4 radishes, sliced

handful rocket

1 little gem lettuce, torn

handful fresh mint, torn

For the dressing

100ml mild olive oil

2 lemons, juice and zest

1 small garlic clove, grated

1 tbsp sumac

to taste salt and pepper

Method

1. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad, toss together to ensure an even coating. 

If you are preparing the salad in advance, I would hold back on adding the pitta bread and dressing until you are just about to serve.