LEBANON
As much as I like my mother’s fattoush, my favorite version is the one below, which I learned from Mario Haddad, a member of the Lebanese Academy of Gastronomy and the owner of the brilliant Falamanki, one of the coolest café/restaurants in Beirut. His recipe uses components of all the different variations and his seasoning mixes lemon juice with vinegar and sumac, pomegranate molasses, garlic, and even dried mint to produce a vibrant salad that is quite unique in flavor.
SERVES 6
FOR THE DRESSING
2 teaspoons sumac soaked for 15 minutes in 2 teaspoons warm water, plus more for tartness
1 small clove garlic, minced to a fine paste
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1 small lemon (see Note)
4 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
½ teaspoon dried mint
Sea salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
FOR THE SALAD
2 medium pita breads, split horizontally into disks, toasted in a hot oven until golden brown, and broken into bite-size pieces
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
10½ ounces (300 g) cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 mini cucumbers (4 ounces/120 g total), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
4 Little Gem lettuces or 1 large romaine lettuce (1 pound/450 g), sliced crosswise into medium-thin strips
1 bunch scallions (2 ounces/50 g), thinly sliced
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley (7 ounces/200 g), leaves stripped off the stems
½ bunch mint (3½ ounces/100 g), leaves stripped off the stems
½ bunch purslane (3½ ounces/100 g), leaves stripped off the stems
1. To make the dressing: Put the sumac and its water, the garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, and dried mint in a medium bowl. Mix well, then add salt to taste. Slowly add the olive oil until well blended. Taste and adjust the tartness to your taste.
2. To make the salad: Put the pieces of toasted bread in a large salad bowl and pour the olive oil over the bread. Toss together. (Coating the bread in olive oil makes it stay crisp longer by delaying the absorption of the moisture from the salad vegetables and the dressing.) Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, scallions, parsley, mint, and purslane. Add the dressing and mix well, taking care not to bruise the vegetables or herbs. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. If the fattoush is not tart enough, add a little more sumac.
NOTE: At Falamanki, the chef uses about 1 tablespoon verjuice instead of lemon juice.