A small local Lebanese restaurant has sparked my interest in this wonderful cuisine, so much so that I often find myself making any excuse possible to return. From the meat to the sides and the irresistible Labneh – I have fallen deeply in love with this country’s wonderful dishes.

I tried my own version of Fattoush over the weekend and it wasn’t a bad first attempt. It’s a simple salad, but the dressing and the crispy flat bread transform it into something very moreish. I warn you now, its not easy to say no to a second helping.

For me, this salad is always about the combination of textures, and most importantly the flat bread.  The bread is the best part, for some reason I find it very satisfying to crunch into a crispy toasted piece of flat bread among all the crisp lettuce, soft tomatoes and fresh cumber, adding in a little natural zing from the radishes and you’ve got yourself a real crowd pleaser.

I wouldn’t make this salad ahead, its better served up straight away. However, if you needed to you can easily make the salad, toast the flat bread (but leave it in an air tight container until serving time) as well as keeping the dressing separate so as not to make the salad ingredients (or the bread for that same thought) soggy and unappealing.

Serves 6 – 8

The list:

1 Lebanese flat bread

1 Lebanese cucumber, quartered lengthwise, cut into chunks

1 medium tomato, cut into chunky pieces

Handful of grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

4–5 radishes, halved and thinly sliced

½ red capsicum, cut into 2 cm cubes

1 baby cos lettuce, cut into 2cm strips

½ cup chopped mint

½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

 

The dressing:

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp sumac

1 tbsp olive oil

1tbsp lemon juice

 

The method: