Salad with Toasted Bread (Jordanian Fattoush)

Jordanian Fattoush also spelled fatoosh (alternately spelled Fattouche) is a wonderful Arabic salad made with fresh ingredients. It is a common salad and what it most delicious is the toasted bread. I used toasted shrak (a Jordanian flatbread). You could also use toasted pita. It acts like a crouton and is lovely with the dressing. As with any salad, use the freshest possible ingredients. I also love the freshness of the dressing, simply lemon and oil with a little salt and pepper. Serve with a little sumac, for a healthful and delicious garnish. This is often served as part of a meze.

Salad:
1 romaine lettuce heart
1 cup cucumbers, chopped
3 green onions, diced
1 cup tomato, diced
1 green yellow or red pepper, diced
2 small radish, thinly sliced
½ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 recipe Jordanian Shrak (Flatbread) or pita, toasted and crunchy

Dressing:
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. sumac
2-4 large cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Make the Salad:
Chop all vegetables and place in a bowl. Mix well.

Make the Dressing:
Add the salt, sumac, crushed garlic, lemon juice and olive oil to a measuring cup. Whisk with a fork until blended.

Assembly:
Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss well. Break toasted Strak or pita into small irregular pieces and mix in with salad just before serving.

Makes 8 servings.