Oven baked pita chips and pomegranate syrup give this traditional Middle Eastern bread salad a crunchy finish and a pleasing pucker.
Ingredients
For the crispy pita:
- 2 pita bread rounds, torn into bite size pieces
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground sumac (optional)
For the salad:
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 mini-cucumbers, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 8 radishes, quartered and diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced and rinsed very well with cold water until crisp
- 1/4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
- 1/4 cup parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup mint leaves
- 1/4 cup dill leaves
- 6 cups loosely packed romaine, washed, patted dry, and thinly sliced
For the dressing:
- 1 large clove of garlic + 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 cup Labneh or Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate syrup
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Step 2
Toss pita with olive oil and salt and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Stir pita, making sure to rotate outside edges to the middle and bake another 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Transfer to mixing bowl and toss with sumac. Set aside until ready to serve.
Step 3
For the dressing smash a clove of garlic with the back of a knife and peel. Mince the garlic then add salt and use the back of your knife to mash garlic into a paste by pressing it against your cutting board in a dragging motion. In a small mixing bowl combine the garlic paste, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, cumin, and coriander. Add labneh, buttermilk, honey, and pomegranate syrup, and whisk until well incorporated.
Step 4
In a large mixing bowl add the cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell peppers, radishes, red onion, fresh pomegranate seeds, parsley, mint, dill, romaine, and dressing then toss to combine.
Step 5
Divide evenly in shallow bowls and crumble pita chips on top. May garnish with additional pomegranate syrup and sumac if desired. Serve immediately.