Authentic Lebanese Fattoush

i am lebanese, and this is my favorite salad. But just to note: the ingredients used in this recipe are right but the problem remains with the sauce that you are using. the real sauce requires: lemon juice, olive oil, sumac and garlic. and if you like, u can add a pinch of zaatar(A lebanese mixture of savory, thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. Available prepared in most Middle-Eastern groceries).

I love Fattoush, I grew up with it as a kid. One suggestion I have is to toast the pita bread in an oven/toaster oven until crispy, break it into bite size pieces and mix it into the salad. It is a healthier option than frying the pita as another user mentioned, and adds a nice crunch to the fattoush.

thought the recipe was pretty good i make fattoush all the time the only difference is i dont use constarch in the dressing and i add red onion and raddishes for more flavor!!

This salad is a staple for the Lebanese, right under tabouleh. However, the mountain people never make a dressing with cornstarch or heating. So, according to my mother-in-law (a little of this and a bit more of that) you add the sumac to the onions that you have chopped in the bowl. The sumac is mixed into the onions and it is used liberally. All vegetables are chopped into the bowl. Then mixed together with salt, black pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. At the very end you mix in the toasted pita bread (make sure you pull the pita apart so you have two rounds before you toast). Then enjoy!

I continue to be amazed by how great the recipes are on this site. This salad is so good. I fried the pita bread and put it in the salad (so much better this way). The idea came from a resturant here in Ann Arbor. The dressing is awesome. I will use this dressing in more salads. You can also add feta if you like.

This is a very good, healthy recipe. I made it twice. The first time exactly as directed (except I used all Romaine and no purslane or arugula.) The second time, I made the dressing with 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and doubled the sumac. I liked it better the second time. This entire recipe was devoured in one sitting by two people. :-)

wow - this is exactly like the fattoush at my favorite lebanese restaurant in detroit. now living in new mexico, i had bit of a time tracking down the sumac. i made it without and then the next day, at a flea market, i discovered a spice stall run by an egyptian man who was selling sumac. how fortuitous! the next day i made again WITH the sumac - perfect!

Fattoush does not require: cornstarch, arugula, parsley. I love fattoush, it's one of the most zesty, delicious and easy to make salads!

I am finding that I just LOVE Lebanese, Armenian, and Greek recipes - this one sounds wonderful. I intend to try it tomorrow - just hope I can find the sumac and the purslane (sp?) here in Massachusetts. I wonder if there is a substitute for either one, if not - or where to find the two. I can almost taste the salad as I write - we had yummy tabbouleh tonight from this site - used a combination of suggestions plus my memories of the first tabbouleh I ever ate. This salad sounds rather like a "green" form of tabbouleh, with many of the same flavors!

This is a great recipe along with the Lebaneese Chicken & Potatoes, also from this site. If you have access to garlic pita chips sold like potato chips, use that instead and this becomes a quick dinner meal.

This was full of flavor. I modified the dressing a bit--I did olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. I added cherry tomatoes and red onion. I agree that toasting the pita in the oven is the way to go. I'd recommend slicing it first into bite sized pieces and brushing with olive oil, red pepper, and cumin. The arugula gave this salad a nice kick. I served this with Lebanese-Style Red Lentil Soup for a healthy dinner.

This recipe, while good, fell short of my expectations based on the description and review(s). The dressing did not have the 'zip' found in restaurant salads. It is a nice recipe; but if you're looking for the "greatest fattoush salad in the world", you may wish to try a different version.

I left out the purslane and arugula - but it didn't matter. The dressing in this recipe is the real star of the show - ad it doesn't have oil! This is going to become a regular weeknight salad for us.

We love this, but I'm sure it will be even better once we track down some sumac and purslane.

Not one of the better Fattoush salad's I've eaten. Sumac makes this dressing a bit sour so next time I will try adding zaatar. I'm not sure what purslane would add to this salad, I can't find it in any of my grocery stores.

I have been searching for this dressing recipe!!! This is just like one that I used to have when I lived in Dearborn, MI. Thank you, thank you!!!

I was skeptical, but this dressing is my new favorite! The four-star rating is only because I found it much better with 2 TB. olive oil, which is still MUCH less than traditional recipes. (Salt- I used 1 tsp, and sumac I increased by 1/2 tsp.)

Healthy and oh so scrumptious. I made my own fattoush using this recipe and two others. I used the basic salad dressing here and added extra sumac, a bit of za'atar, and a drop of evoo. For the salad I used arugula, tomatoes, cukes, red onion, mint, parsley, and toasted stale wheat pitas (375 in the oven for 5-7 min on each side). Big hit, definitely making this again.

excellent - almost as good as the local lebanesse pita shop! now if only there was a way to keep this stuff in the fridge and it not go soggy in a few hours.

Loed this salad - I used sumac, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice for the dressing - worked well. also I fried the pita bread lightly in garlic olive oil - very tasty

This was not the fattoush flavor that I was looking for, but still pretty good. I used bottled lemon juice instead of fresh, and I think that was the problem. I'll definately make this again using fresh juice.

i really love this salad. i've been looking for its recipe ever since i left lebanon

I made this last week for a dinner party where we were having Chicken Shwarma Wraps from an authentic Lebanese restaurant. I wanted to try and duplicate the Fattoush Salad from the same restaurant, and it worked. I omitted the green pepper, as I have never had it in Fattoush salad; did not have Sumac, but Google said you can sub lemon zest or lemon pepper. I subbed lemon zest and a little more lemon juice; did not use the water/ cornstarch mixture, not necessary in my opinion, and the dressing was outstanding. I added sliced radishes and was able to find authentic garlic pita chips from another Lebanese store in my area, and they were perfect for this salad. This will be in my salad rotation, it was delicious and very authentic.

I give it a four star since it is a lovely and healthy original salad!! However, in some area in Lebanon, they add 2 more ingredients to the list which makes a big difference which is , sliced Radish and Pomegrenade molasses. Try it out by mixing the radish and putting the sauce of pomegrenade on top of the Fattoush!! You love it guaranteed!!