Fattoush

This week’s blog is going to be about a different type of Middle Eastern salad which is Fattoush. Like I mentioned before, salads are a very important and healthy part of our everyday meals. Most people do include a salad as an important part of their meal either as an appetizer or as a side dish on their main entrees. Furthermore, salads are a big part in a vegetarian’s lifestyle and they would like to include it in every meal.  Last week’s blog was about Tabouleh which is a Lebanese salad and this week I’m going to tell you about another most important salad in the Middle East which is Fattoush.

Fattoush is a Levantine bread salad made from toasted or fried pieces of pita bread combine with mixed greens and other vegetables. Fattoush includes different vegetables and herbs according to season and taste. The vegetables are cut into large pieces compared to Tabouleh, which requires ingredients to be finely chopped. Sumac is usually used to give Fattoush its sour taste.

Fattoush

Ingredients:

Salad:

·      Pita breads, halved, toasted until golden brown, broken into bite-size pieces

·      1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

·      Kosher salt

·      3 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped

·     1 pound Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced crosswise

·      6 scallions, thinly sliced

·      2 romaine lettuces, or 1 small head romaine lettuce, cut crosswise into 3/4" strips

·      2 cups (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves

·      1 cup fresh mint leaves

·      Ground sumac (optional)

Dressing: 

•   4 teaspoons ground sumac
•   3 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
•  2 tablespoons (or more) pomegranate molasses
•  2 teaspoons (or more) white wine vinegar
•  1/2 teaspoon dried mint
•  3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
•  Salt

After adding all these ingredients, you add the dressing to the salad. It is better to add these ingredients in a bowl and mix it all together then add it to your Fattoush to get better results! Finally, this is how you make Fattoush, which is one of the simplest and easiest salads to make as you can see! Hope you guys enjoyed it!!

Tabooleh

First, I would like to start with making salads. Salad is an important and healthy meal in everyone’s life. In addition, people tend to eat salads almost every meal, whether it is for lunch, dinner, or even as a snack. Eating a salad almost every day can pay off with plenty of health benefits. Salads are cool, crunchy, and fun to eat (lots of textures, colors, and flavors). Most people enjoy eating salads--even kids! 

In the Middle East, everyone loves to eat “Tabooleh”.  It is one of the most delicious and tasty salads you can eat. Furthermore, it is healthy too! Tabouleh is a salad like no other. If you have some I promise you cant stop eating it! Even when we have dinner or lunch it is one of the main meals on the course meal. It is also very easy to make but it requires a little work, however, it is worth the work!

Tabooleh

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of fresh parsley (1 1/2 cup chopped, with stems discarded)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 6 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup bulgur, medium grade
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

• Soak bulgur in cold water for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until soft.
• Squeeze out excess water from bulgur using hands or paper towel.
• Combine all ingredients, except for salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.
• Line serving bowl with grape leaves or romaine lettuce, and add salad.
• Sprinkle olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper on top.
• Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.

The picture may not look very delicious but you can never judge a book by its cover! The way the salad looks can tell how good it looks! You can find this type of salad "Tabouleh" in many Middle Eastern restaurants such as “Paramount”, “Pitaland”, and many more.

Welcome to Middle Eastern Fine Food

“The key to everyone’s heart is a meal.”

I am writing this blog about all types of Middle Eastern food. I have a hobby in cooking different types of food. Each week I am going to post different meals and add the ingredients that are required to cook the meal. There is a variety of Middle Eastern food that everyone loves to eat!

We all know everybody loves to eat and no one can live without food so this blog will provide you with the perfect and simple ingredients to make the most tasty and delicious meals.

Cooking can be more than just making food for day-to-day meals. It can transform routine to a passion. If you have the likes for cooking up a dish then you can take up cooking as a career.

Middle Eastern food is one of the most popular foods around the world. It is one of the most delicious foods and can be cooked using different varieties of healthy ingredients. Most regions in Middle East use different types of spices and olive oil.

Middle East is famous for a few different dishes. Here you will find the most popular and widely recognized Middle Eastern dishes and their recipes.
In the next few blogs, I am going to discuss all different types of salads, for example, Fatoush, Tabouleh, and many more! We will discuss more meals like Falafel, Shawermeh, Kibbeh, Dawali and more. You may not understand what these foods are so each blog will help you understand and master the skills in cooking those types of food.

Get your aprons ready and get ready to experience first class cooking! Stay Tuned.