Fattoush Salad with Crispy Pita and Pomegranate

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.