Fattoush all about the quality

THE quality of this salad depends entirely on the quality of the ingredients. It is basically an Israeli salad tossed with toasted pita, which is a great way of using stale bread.

Recipe:

2 Turkish flatbreads/pita breads ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 3 tsp za’atar 400g Israeli cucumber, cubed 300g rosa tomatoes, cubed 100g radish, sliced 40g red onion, chopped 10g Italian parsley, chopped 10g mint, chopped 1 tsp sumac (a sour Middle-Eastern Spice) 1 lemon, juiced salt and freshly pepper

Method:

ground black

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roughly tear the flatbreads and mix them in a bowl with 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tsp of za’atar. Toast them in the oven on a baking tray for about 10 minutes or until golden and crisp.

In the meantime combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, radish, red onion, herbs, sumac, lemon juice, and salt and pepper in a bowl. When you are ready to serve the salad, add the remainder of the olive oil, za’atar and toasted flatbread. Toss all the ingredients together and serve.

Serves 4–6

Cook’s Note

I use small Israeli cucumbers, which have fewer seeds and are therefore less watery. You could add chopped Romaine lettuce for bulk or texture.

If you can’t find Za’atar spice, a Mediterranean spice with a thyme-like flavour, the substitute would be (to make about ½/ cup of za’atar) put 3 tbs. dried thyme, 1 tbs lightly toasted sesame seeds, 1 tbs ground sumac, ½ tsp dried oregano or marjoram, and ¼ tsp kosher salt in a spice grinder. Pulse a few times to mix and break up some of the seeds – there should still be many whole seeds visible.