Lebanese-Style Bread Salad With Tomatoes and Herbs

By David Tanis

Updated July 31, 2017

  • Karsten Moran for The New York Times
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Total Time
About 20 minutes
Rating
4(255)
Comments
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Ripe tomatoes, cool cucumbers and toasted pita bread, or Middle-Eastern bread salad. To be completely authentic, this Lebanese dish that is served in various forms across the region should also contain a sprinkling of reddish powdered sumac, which has a sour, lemony flavor and is available from good spice merchants. Fresh purslane, a slightly sour green succulent plant, is also traditional to the dish. You can sometimes get it at farmers markets, or find it growing wild. (It volunteers itself in most vegetable gardens.) But neither is required.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 3 or 4 stale pita rounds (6-inch diameter, whole wheat or white)

  • 1 pound ripe tomatoes, chopped

  • 1 cup chopped cucumber

  • 1 cup chopped sweet bell pepper

  • ½ cup diced red onion

  • 6 scallions, sliced thin

  • Salt and pepper

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 small garlic cloves, smashed to a paste

  • ½ teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and ground

  • ¼ cup roughly chopped parsley

  • ¼ cup roughly chopped mint

  • ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro

  • 2 teaspoons powdered sumac, optional

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

44 grams carbs; 326 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 15 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 701 milligrams sodium; 8 grams protein; 8 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Toast pita until crisp and dry. When cool, break into bite-size pieces and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Put tomato, cucumber, pepper, onion and scallions in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, garlic and cumin. Pour dressing over vegetables and mix to coat. Let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate for up to an hour, if desired.

  3. Step 3

    Just before serving, add parsley, mint, cilantro and toasted pita. Toss gently. Sprinkle with sumac, if using.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
255 user ratings
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Comments

Barbara

I made it, but I used parsley like the Lebanese do, not cilantro and red onion instead of scallion. The original version calls for fried pita...

Yasmine

I'm really sorry, but this is so far removed from the many authentic versions (Palestinian, Lebanese or Syrian fattoush) so as to not to vaguely resemble it.
Necessary (not optional) ingredients: sumac, pomegranate molasses, sliced radishes
There is no cilantro and certainly no white vinegar in fattoush! Also no cumin :)
There are no croutons, beans or cashews either :)))

Figaro

Instead of frying, get the same savory flavor this way; drizzle olive oil on the pita halves, add the sumac and a bit of salt. Bake at 350 (good if you have a toaster oven), until just beginning to become golden. Break them into the salad before dressing. Same taste, healthier alternative to frying.

Caitlin

This salad was excellent. A perfect side dish to a Mediterranean mean. I subbed lime juice for lemon to no ill-effect. Will make again!!

Debbie Peck

Perfect summer salad. Used sumac for the first time. Flavors are complex, love the different textures.

Rev.D Magic

I followed the recipe almost exactly. I didn’t have much cilantro so I went heavy on parsley and mint. I used stale bread. It was amazing. This dressing as simple as it is, is wonderful. My peppers were red and from my garden as were the cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs. It’s amazing. Drip from your chin amazing.

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