Fattoush bread salad

A fattoush is a Middle Eastern bread salad made from toasted or fried pieces of pita bread or stale flatbreads combined with mixed rustic chopped greens and other vegetables. Again, ideal for summer dinners!

This version – inspired by a recipe I found in the Allerhande magazine – has cherry tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, fresh peas, loads of herbs and a zingy and creamy yogurt dressing.

The pita bread rounds are brushed with baharat infused oil to get them extra spicy and crispy. Baharat is a ground spice blend commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine and actually means spices in Arabic. Commonly, it consists of black pepper, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds, cardamom, nutmeg, and paprika and is used to season meat and soups and as a general condiment. The one I used (Euroma) also had some garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper in it.

The recipe (serves 4):

2 tbsp baharat
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 whole-wheat pita bread
200g / 7oz fresh peas
350g / 12oz cherry tomatoes, whole or halved
150g / 5oz bell peppers, cut in bite-size pieces
15g / ¾ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
10g / ½ cup mint, finely chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp low-fat Greek yogurt
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced

Preheat your oven to 180°C/355°F.
Mix the baharat and the extra virgin olive oil. Cut the pita bread in half lengthwise, getting 6 pita bread circles and brush them on the cut-side with the baharat oil. Cut each of the pita bread circles in more or less even-sized pieces.
Line a baking tray with baking parchment and put the pita bread pieces on it and bake them in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until they are nice and crispy.
In the meantime, bring a medium pot with water to a boil and boil the peas for about 10 minutes (3 minutes if using frozen), then drain and blanch them in cold running water.
Whisk add any leftover baharat oil and the 3 tbsp of olive oil, yogurt, vinegar in a wide bowl to a dressing. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.
In a large salad bowl, mix the tomatoes, peppers, and peas with half of the dressing and stir in the mint, parsley and most of the crispy pita bread pieces.
Garnish with the remainder of the crispy pita bread pieces and serve immediately with the remaining dressing on the side.