Fattoush Salad

This healthy and colourful salad is packed full of flavour and texture. Delicious ripe tomatoes, cool cucumber, courgette ribbons and crisp little gem lettuce are brought together with an amazing middle eastern dressing and finished with crispy pitta bread croutons, pomegranate seeds and a sprinkle of sumac. A great way to enjoy 2 of our 5-a-day.

Serves 2 – 4.

Low – calorie cooking spray

2 pitta breads, cut into 8 squares

1 lemon, juiced

1tbs rape seed oil

2tbs pomegranate molasses

Salt and black pepper

1tsp sumac, plus extra to serve

2 large vine tomatoes, chopped into large chunks

½ cucumber, chopped into large chunks

1 little Gem lettuce, leaves separated and torn

1 small courgette, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler

2 fresh mint sprigs, leaves picked and chopped

Large handful flat – leaf parsley, roughly chopped

10 black olives, stoned

Seeds of ½ pomegranate

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c, gas 4, 350f

Spray a large non- stick baking tray with low – calorie cooking spray, place on the pitta bread squares and bake in the oven for 5 – 7 minutes until crisp and slightly golden brown, set aside to cool.

To make the dressing, combine the lemon juice with the rapeseed oil and pomegranate molasses in a small jug, season with salt and black pepper, then whisk in the sumac.

To assemble the salad, tip the tomatoes cucumber into a large bowl and toss in the dressing. Add the lettuce, courgette ribbons, herbs and olives and mix well.

Pile onto a large platter scatter over the baked pitta croutons and pomegranate seeds. Sprinkle over some more sumac just before serving.

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Notes: This salad is best made and eaten on the same day as the pitta bread will soften.