Fattoush: The Middle East’s vivid answer for stale pita bread

Tuscany’s answer for stale bread, panzanella, is simply the beginning of salad options for stale bread. Throughout the Middle East – the place contemporary, skinny flatbreads dry out even sooner than foccacia – there’s a greener, crunchier cousin of panzanella: fattoush.

Fattoush is little greater than the ever-present Arab salad that accompanies almost each meal within the Middle East, a various mixture of cucumbers, radish, lettuce, tomatoes, scallions and contemporary herbs. Yet two substances set fattoush aside – sumac and pita bread.

In this recipe from our e book “Milk Street Tuesday Nights,” which limits recipes to 45 minutes or much less, we make our pita further crunchy so the salad finally ends up with totally different textures. We brush the rounds with oil and bake them till properly browned. Sumac is sort of a dry citrus, with earthy, tart notes that brighten the salad with out making the pita soggy.

Our addition of quick-pickled grapes isn’t a typical fattoush ingredient, however we liked their sweet-tart taste and succulent texture in a fattoush at chef Ana Sortun’s Oleana restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both the pita and the grapes will be ready a day upfront, however retailer the pita in an hermetic container.

Pomegranate molasses, which is tangy and evenly fruity, is non-obligatory however provides the fattoush complexity and a definite Middle Eastern character.

Fattoush

Start to complete: half-hour

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 pound seedless crimson grapes, halved
¼ cup cider vinegar
Kosher salt and floor black pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 teaspoons floor cumin
½ to ¾ teaspoon crimson pepper flakes
Two 8-inch pita bread rounds, every break up into 2 rounds
½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
½ cup finely chopped contemporary dill
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (non-obligatory)
2 teaspoons floor sumac
1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced
6- to 7-ounce romaine coronary heart, chopped into bite-size items
1 cup contemporary mint leaves, finely chopped

Directions: 

Heat the oven to 400ºF with a rack within the center place. In a medium bowl, stir collectively the grapes, vinegar and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cover and refrigerate.

In a small bowl, stir collectively ¼ cup of oil, the garlic, cumin and pepper flakes. Arrange the pita rounds tough aspect up on a rimmed baking sheet, then brush every with the flavored oil, utilizing all 6 tablespoons. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake till browned and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Set apart to chill. When cool sufficient to deal with, break into bite-size items.

Drain the grapes, reserving the pickling liquid. In a big bowl, mix the remaining ¼ cup of oil, the yogurt, dill, molasses and sumac, if utilizing, ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add the reserved pickling liquid and whisk nicely. Add the cucumber, romaine, mint, pickled grapes and pita items. Toss till evenly coated.

Get extra recipes and dinner concepts from The Washington Times meals part.