Fattoush salad with roasted tomatoes and za’atar
Roasted tomatoes add an intense deep flavour to this crunchy Middle Eastern salad with mint and za’atar dressing.
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on facebook
Share
Share on email
Email
So, let’s understand all these names, fattoush, za’atar and sumac before we jump in to make this healthy and light salad.
The fattoush salad is a Middle Eastern salad full of textures. It’s a salad with a perfect combination of herbs, bread and fresh, vibrant vegetables. Google tells me the name fattoush means crushed or crumbs which explains the use of toasted or stale pita bread.
Sumac is this small, little dried berry of a flower with a lemony taste. It is native spice to the Middle East and can be used to sprinkle over salad or in marination. Za’atar is a blend of seasoning with a mix of sumac, herbs, sesame seeds and salt. It tastes crunchy and tangy and I just love to use it in anything and everything.
Now that we have a little understanding of the names, let’s get to making it. Za’atar itself is a bold flavour that brings the fresh vegetables in this salad to life but adding roasted tomatoes takes the salad to another level. You can totally skip the roasting part but trust me, the two different textures of tomato, fresh and roasted, gives this salad a delicious twist. 
You can buy pita from a store or make it at home. I toasted some of my whole wheat + dalia pita bread (or spinach pita) and before I knew, half of it was gone! They are so delicious; you can have it plain or dipped in hummus or even a cheese sauce made of pumpkin!
If you liked this recipe, you may like some of these as well:
Recipe Card
Fattoush salad with roasted tomatoes and za’atar
Recipe Rating
AUTHOR
Hema B Kathrani
CUISINE
International
PREP TIME
20 mins
COOK TIME
25 mins
SERVINGS
serves 4
Author: Hema B Kathrani | Cuisine: International | Category: Healthy Options
Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 25 mins | Servings: serves 4
Roasted tomatoes add an intense deep flavour to this crunchy Middle Eastern salad with mint and za’atar dressing.
Ingredients
- Vegetables for the salad:
- ¼ cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 head lettuce
- 1 small cucumber
- 5 pearl/sambar onions
- 1 cup capsicum diced
- Roasted cherry tomatoes:
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Mint and za’atar dressing:
- ½ cup packed mint
- 1 garlic
- 1 green chili
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp za’atar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For pita chips:
- 3 pita bread (preferably whole wheat)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp za’atar
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Make pita chips:
- Pre heat the oven to 180C.
- Tear the pita bread in bite sized pieces and toss it with olive oil, za’atar and salt until coated well.
- Spread the pita pieces on a baking tray in a single layer and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- At an interval of 5 minutes, give it a quick toss to ensure even cooking.
- Remove from the oven once they are toasty and golden.
- Set it aside to cool.
- Make roasted tomatoes:
- In the same baking tray that you used to toast pita bread, toss 1 cup cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Cook for 10-12 minutes at 180 C until the tomatoes release their juice and starts wilting.
- Make the dressing:
- In a mortar and pestle, pound chili and garlic with a pinch of salt till mushy.
- Add the mint and pound it until it wilts and mixes with the chili and garlic.
- Mix lemon juice, olive oil, za’atar and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Keep it aside.
- Make the salad:
- In a big bowl, tear the lettuce and put it at the bottom.
- Place cucumber, pearl onions, capsicum and cherry tomatoes over the lettuce.
- Just before serving, put roasted tomatoes with its juices, the mint and za’atar dressing and pita chips over the lettuce and vegetables mix.
- Toss it all gently and serve immediately.
Notes
- This salad is best eaten immediately as the water will release from the vegetables making lettuce wilt and will make pita chips soft.
- You could make the dressing in blender on a pulse mode.
- Tomatoes can also be roasted directly over a flame till the skin starts peeling off. Once roasted, splash extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and keep it aside for 15 minutes.
- You could also use thick, a day old roti instead of pita chips in this salad. Tear the roti in bite sized pieces and bake it as pita chips.
- I had many queries regarding a substitute for za’atar, so here is a substitute you can use – you can use 1 tsp roasted sesame seeds + 1/2 tsp oregano + 1/4 tsp black salt + 1/2 tsp aamchur powder + 1/2 tsp cumin-corinader powder. Mix and use as a substitute for za’atar.
Did you make this recipe? Follow me on Instagram handle @acookwithin or @acookwithin on Facebook.
www.acookwithin.com
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on facebook
Share
Share on email
Email
Let me know how this recipe turned out for you by writing to me in the comments below. And if you take a picture, please tag me on my instagram handle @acookwithin 
to share your creation😊 It would make my day!
2 thoughts on “Fattoush salad with roasted tomatoes and za’atar”
Looks yummy. Will try definitely
Wonderful! Let me know how it turned out for you 🙂