Fattoush Salad

Now I must admit I do like salads, I actually don't mind them in winter with something warm of course. Like chicken satay skewers and rice with a simple salad. As I try to have at least one serve of vegies everyday, a salad is a good way of eating many types of vegetables at once.

I really don't like being bored with food, I went through a stage for quite a long time. that I had refused to make mashed potato. When the girls were young and the house interest rates had hit 18%, yes 18% I had to streeeetch our food and mash potato was one thing that was filling and didn't cost a lot. Therefore I don't cook it often.

Even now Miss Fish will come up with things she would like to eat for tea and I baulk at cooking the same thing over and over again. This is why I am always looking for different ways to use the same ingredients. Some of the ingredients in this salad are the same as a greek salad, so you can start with similar ingredients and extras and alter the dressing and tadah an interesting and versatile salad.

Now some recipes use special breads, I just use pita bread. Some recipes also use radishes, I don't make a special trip to get them for this salad, but if I know that I want to make this salad and radishes are available I will buy them

The radishes add a nice warmth or if they are large you will get more heat.

One of the must have ingredients in the dressing is sumac, the fruit of the sumac plants are dried and ground and give a lemony flavour to the dressing.It is used often in middle eastern food.

I sometimes add it to olive oil and lemon juice for a quick marinade for chicken to go onto the BBQ. You can also sprinkle some on your homemade hummus.

Ground Sumac

Fattoush

1 pita bread pulled apart into two halves, baked in the oven at 180.c for about 5 - 10 minutes until crispy, Break into bite size pieces

Salad

1/2 iceburg, torn into 3 - 4 cm pieces, 1/2 Lebanese or 1 whole normal cucumber, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise the into 1 cm slices, 3 - 4 radishes cut into thin slices, 1 whole red or yellow capsicum cut into 2 cm squares, 2 medium tomatoes diced, 3 spring onions finely sliced. 1/2 cup each chopped mint and parsley

Dressing

3 cloves garlic crushed or grated, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsps sweet paprika, 2 tsps sumac, 2 tbsps olive oil, 2 tbsps lemon juice

Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl add the salad ingredients and broken pita bread. Toss together and serve with some BBQ meat, chicken skewers, marinated chicken breasts or even some freshly cooked fish.

The choice is yours as to what you would like to serve it with.