I’m calling this a winter fattoush salad because I use cabbage in place of lettuce, which, in Nova Scotia, is generally pretty sad in the winter. Using cabbage in place of lettuce also increases the health factor of the salad by upping the fibre and vitamin C content.
I have made this fattoush style salad a couple of ways, and it works nicely with either red or green cabbage. I’ve made it with mesclun mix as a base, and without. Tomatoes have been optional, depending on whether I have them. It’s had added mango, and/or added pomegranate and it tastes great with either.
This is a very forgiving salad, and an easy one to make; it’s great for those of you who like to play with recipes. The fresh mint is one ingredient, however, that I would not leave out! It adds a little zing of summer freshness that I long for on grey winter evenings.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 a green or red cabbage, chopped into bite-sized pieces or thinly sliced
- 4-5 tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 an English cucumber, chopped
- 1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
- seeds from 1/2 a pomegranate or 1/2 a mango, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 a large green pepper, chopped
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- big handful chopped fresh mint
- optional 3-4 green onions
- Mesclun salad mix, optional
- 3-4 whole wheat pitas + 3 tbsp olive oil + sea salt + pepper to taste
Dressing
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or grated
- 1 tsp sumac
- 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp sea salt
- black pepper to taste
Directions:
- First, assemble the salad: mix all salad veggies (not the pita!) except the mesclun in a large bowl.
- Assemble the dressing: Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, sumac, salt and pepper. Slowly stream in the olive oil, whisking continuously until emulsified. Set aside.
- Next, prepare the pita bread. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the pita bread and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the pita becomes crispy and golden in color, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
- Pour the dressing over the veggies and herbs, and toss to coat. Break up the pitas and gently toss them into the salad and mix very gently to combine.
- If using the mesclun mix, place a big handful of mesclun greens on each individual plate. Top the greens with a big scoop of the salad. Alternately, skip the mesclun and enjoy the salad on its own.
