Lebanese Fattoush Salad with Crispy Pita Chips, Garden Vegetables, Sumac and Pomegranate Molasses

Make the pita chips: preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Tear pita bread into large, irregular pieces — not neat squares. Toss with olive oil, salt, and sumac. Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer without overlapping. Bake for 10-12 minutes until deeply golden and very crispy throughout. Alternatively, fry in shallow oil for a richer, more traditional flavor. The chips must be genuinely crunchy — not just toasted. They should shatter, not bend. Let cool completely before adding to the salad. If added warm, they immediately steam and go soggy.

Ingredients

• For the crispy pita chips (fattat):
• 2 large pita breads — day-old pita is ideal because lower moisture means crisper chips
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 tsp sumac (for seasoning the chips)
• For the salad vegetables:
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into irregular 2cm chunks — never dice tomatoes for fattoush; the irregular pieces hold more texture
• 1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced 1cm thick (Lebanese cucumbers are traditional — smaller, thinner skin, less watery)
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced
• 4 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced including green tops
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly torn (not chopped — torn parsley is more aromatic)
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
• For the fattoush dressing:
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil — Lebanese fattoush uses generously flavored olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses — the defining ingredient that separates fattoush from every other bread salad; its sweet-sour-fruity depth is non-negotiable
• 1.5 tsp ground sumac (plus more for serving) — sumac's tart, fruity sourness is the backbone of Lebanese salad dressings
• 1 small garlic clove, pounded to a paste with a pinch of salt
• Salt and pepper to taste
• For garnish:
• Additional sumac for dusting
• Fresh pomegranate seeds (seasonal)

Instructions

1. Make the pita chips: preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Tear pita bread into large, irregular pieces — not neat squares. Toss with olive oil, salt, and sumac. Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer without overlapping. Bake for 10-12 minutes until deeply golden and very crispy throughout. Alternatively, fry in shallow oil for a richer, more traditional flavor. The chips must be genuinely crunchy — not just toasted. They should shatter, not bend. Let cool completely before adding to the salad. If added warm, they immediately steam and go soggy.
2. Make the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, sumac, and garlic paste. Taste: it should be tart, slightly sweet, deeply fruity, and fragrant. Pomegranate molasses is thick, sour-sweet, and intensely fruity — very different from Western balsamic vinegar or lemon-only dressings. If pomegranate molasses is unavailable, substitute 1 tsp lemon juice + 1 tsp concentrated grape juice — a rough approximation but not equivalent. Adjust salt to taste.
3. Prepare the vegetables: combine tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, spring onions, green pepper, parsley, and mint in a large serving bowl. Do not mix in advance — the salt from dressing will draw water out of the tomatoes and cucumber over time.
4. Assemble at the last minute: pour the dressing over the vegetables. Toss gently. Add crispy pita chips. Toss once more — just enough to coat everything. The pita chips should still be predominantly crunchy with only their edges beginning to absorb the dressing.
5. Serve immediately: fattoush is a dish that must be served the moment it is assembled. Unlike tabbouleh (which improves with resting), fattoush deteriorates within minutes as the chips absorb moisture and the vegetables weep. Dust the surface with additional sumac. Scatter pomegranate seeds if using.
6. Fattoush (فتوش) belongs to the tradition of fattat — the Levantine practice of using stale bread as the protein anchor of a dish. The word fattoush derives from the Arabic fatt, meaning 'to crumble' — describing the technique of tearing stale bread into pieces to revive it with fresh vegetables and acidic dressing. The dish appears across Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan in slightly different forms. In Lebanon, the pomegranate molasses is non-negotiable — it is what distinguishes Lebanese fattoush from Syrian or Palestinian versions. In Beirut, fattoush is eaten year-round as a mezze component, served alongside hummus, baba ganoush, kibbeh, and grilled meats on the communal table that defines Lebanese hospitality.