Fattoush is a popular salad in middle eastern cuisine and especially in lebanon. It's similar to italy'spanzanella salad, which is a bread salad made with toasted croutons. Toasted bread cubes also feature prominently in caesar salad, where the bread is often seasoned with grated parmesan cheese. In panzanella, though, just as with fattoush, the bread is folded into the salad and is meant to absorb the dressing. Can we just say yumPanzanella is frequently made with hunks of sourdough and fattoush typically uses pita bread. But there's no hard and fast rule about it. You can tear up whatever toasted bread you like and include it in fattoush because it's more a method than a rule. The important element is that the bread is mixed in to absorb the dressing as opposed to being just a garnish on top. You may also add whatever vegetables are in season that you have around such as asparagus. But the typical base of all middle eastern salads is lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes with frequent appearances by radishes and onions. Typical middle eastern dressings also rely on some tried and true ingredients. Namely, a basic vinaigrette made with olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice rather than vinegar. Sumac, with its lemon taste, is a common dressing ingredient as well. Enjoy
