Yesterday was "one of those days" when I had too many things to get done, and unfortunately the blog fell on the bottom of the list. But alas I took a photo last night of our fave summertime dish with ingredients straight from our (totally urban) herb garden. I'm not giving exact amounts here, because I think it's important to use what you have in your fridge, garden or local market at the time. If you have never tried a bread salad, you are really missing out and this should be incentive enough for your to try it! Fatoosh is fun to say, but even better to eat......
old stale bread, preferably flat breads like from a Middle Eastern baker, cut into small pieces
fresh flat parsley, chopped
fresh mint, chopped
scallions, minced
red pepper, seeded and diced
tomatoes, seeded and diced
cucumber, seeded and diced
romaine or regular lettuce
radishes, thinly sliced
Dressing:
garlic, minced
lemons
sumac (a very lemony spice you find in Middle Eastern markets)
olive oil
salt to taste
In a bowl, place all the vegetables, leaving the tomatoes on the bottom (otherwise they will bleed their juice all over the other veggies). In an oven or the stove top, toast and dry out the stale bread until nice and crispy - think big croutons. In a bowl mix all the dressing ingredients together until emulsified. Place the toasted bread on top of all the vegetables in the large bowl, and then pour the dressing over the entire mixture. Toss well making sure everything gets coated with the dressing and the bread has absorbed a good amount of dressing. Taste and adjust for salt if needed. Serve immediately, otherwise you'll have a soggy bread salad, which no one likes! Goes great with a summertime barbecue.
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