Middle Eastern Fattoush Salad
Fattoush is one of my favorite salads to order when we go to a Lebanese restaurant. I love the contrast of the crispy, juicy and tangy textures and flavors. If your kids are still a little unsure about eating salad, put the ingredients in separate bowls and let them choose which to add to their plates and whether to combine them, although recipe tester Bobbi Woods’ teenage son said, “This salad is valid!” which apparently means it’s very good.
Ingredients
- 2 cups green beans ends trimmed
- 1 head Boston or other wide leaf lettuce torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cucumber peeled if desired, quartered, and chopped about 2 cups
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup fresh mint and/or parsley chopped
- 15 oz. canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)(or use 1 1/2 cups home-cooked chickpeas for every 15 oz. can), drained and rinsed
- 4 oz. crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 lemon juice only, about 2 Tbsp.
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar preferably one that’s a touch sweet
- 2 cups pita chips (store-bought or homemade) (use wheat/gluten-free, if needed), coarsely broken
Instructions
- Steam the green beans on the stovetop or in the microwave for 3 – 5 minutes until they are fork tender.
- In a large serving bowl, combine the lettuce, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, chickpeas, and cheese.
- Just before serving, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, and vinegar, and add it to the salad with some salt and black pepper, to taste, and toss the salad thoroughly.
- Gently toss in the pita chips and serve immediately, or sprinkle some pita chips on top of each serving so they don’t get soggy if there are leftovers.
Notes
Do Ahead or Delegate: Trim the green beans, tear the lettuce into pieces, peel (if desired), quarter, and chop the cucumber, halve the tomatoes, chop the mint and/or parsley, crumble the cheese if necessary and refrigerate, juice the lemon, prepare the salad dressing, coarsely break the pita chips.
Scramble Flavor Booster: Add 1 tsp. Dijon mustard to the dressing, and season the salad with plenty of black pepper.
Tip: There are plenty of other ingredients you could add to the salad if you have them, like thinly sliced fennel, radishes, bell peppers, onions, kalamata olives, chicken, or shrimp. You can also omit the lettuce for a more traditional Mediterranean version.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (% based upon daily values):Calories 220, Total Fat: 11g, 17%; Saturated Fat: 4g, 18.5%; Cholesterol: 17mg, 5.5%; Sodium: 281mg, 11.5%; Total Carbohydrate: 25g, 8%; Dietary Fiber: 5g, 20%; Sugar: 4g; Protein: 9g
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