Farro Fattoush Salad

September 5, 2013
Food,Recipes

Whole grains, like farro, are a wonderful addition to flavor packed salads like fattoush. Fattoush is a classic Lebanese salad combining fried or toasted pita with vegetables and herbs, like mint and parsley. It also features one of my favorite spices, sumac, which is a tangy and sour red spice used in all kinds of Middle Eastern cuisine. It’s absolutely perfect on grilled meats, like kebabs. My twist on fattoush replaces the pita with farro, a grain I’ve been obsessed with using lately. I usually eye-ball the measurements, with a handful of mint here, and a dash of sumac there, so feel free to play with the proportions. This salad is so hearty you could serve it as a main dish along with a simple protein, like fish.

fattoush salad 6

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of cooked farro, cooled to room temperature
  • 1 small bundle of radishes, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 2 handfuls of baby arugula or watercress
  • 1/2 a large red onion or 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons of sumac
  • 1 teaspoon of all-spice
  • 1 cup of mint leaves
  • 1/2 cup of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 1  tablespoons of white wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon of thick plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

farro fattoush salad 1

Sprinkle the sumac and all spice over the sliced onions. Lightly massage the sumac into the onions with a spoon and set aside. This takes that raw bite out of the onions.

farro fattoush salad 2

Add two handfuls of baby arugula to the bottom of the bowl and then add the thinly sliced radishes and cucumbers.

fattoush salad 3

Tear the mint from the stems and add the roughly chopped parsley. Add the sumac onions and the cooled cooked farro.

fattoush salad 4

To make the dressing, combine the lemon juice and vinegar in a small bowl. Stream in the olive oil while whisking to make an emulsion. Mix in the yogurt and minced garlic. Salt and pepper to taste.

fattoush salad 7

Pour the yogurt dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

fattoush salad 5

Dig into this salad and feel good about it!

fattoush salad

fattoush salad

(images by HonestlyYUM)

Conversation

Would the dressing keep for a few days if you made a slightly bigger batch?

The dressing definitely keeps for a few days but don’t dress the salad until you’re ready to enjoy!

Beautiful! I love a good fattoush. And sumac has been the spice of 2013 for me. Wonderfully tangy.

Amazing idea to add a grain to this already delicious salad. We can’t wait to try it! Thank you for this lovely post

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Fattoush is one of my favourites! I remember it was the first salad recipe I posted on my blog, too. I absolutely love that you’ve used a yogurt-based dressing and the farro makes it so rustic and wholesome. Definitely trying this variation next time.

I LOVE FATTOUSH!

This recipe looks delightful. … As for trying to find Sumac – do you have any ethnic grocery stores/markets in your area? They may carry it!

Glad you’re a fellow fattoush lover! Yes, Middle Eastern markets are your best bet, but I got mine at Whole Foods and have even seen it at my local Albertson’s in LA!

I have heard so much about this salad and sumac but never tried it

Hope you try it soon! Sumac is such a great spice and pretty widely available.

Karen this is soooo beautiful! I love both sumac and allspice but I’ve never had them together – must try.

I love fattoush- got hooked on it when working in a little upscale deli during high school. I’ve had a hard time finding sumac in my stores nearby, though- do you order it online anywhere?

My new culinary maxim is to add herbs wherever you can. Loving the addition of mint and especially love sumac. I specialize in the Middle East and thus always have some on hand that I have picked up from the souks (markets) of a recently visited Arab country!

That’s a great maxim! Herbs are slowly replacing the greens in my salads 🙂

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