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–+ servings

Buttermilk Fattoush

Adapted from Falastin: A Cookbook by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley If decent tomatoes aren't available, substitute 2 cups (380g) of halved or quartered cherry tomatoes. I don't advise overdraining the cucumbers with salt in step #2 as they can get soggy. It's a step they don't do in the book, but I like to do it to get rid of some of the excess water. I supposed if you're serving the salad right away, it's not necessary, although it's a habit of mine to do it. Fattoush often uses stale or day-old bread, which often isn't as crisp as bread that's lightly oven-toasted. To make the toasted bread, put the flatbreads directly on the rack of a moderate oven (about 350ºF/180ºC) for a few minutes to dry them out. For making the salad ahead of time, you can prepare most of the ingredients in advance; dress the sumac onions, put all the chopped ingredients (except the bread) in a large bowl, and mix up the dressing separately. Then toss everything together just before serving.
Servings 4 servings

For the sumac onions

  • 1 medium onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a bit more if necessary
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sumac
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

For the salad

  • 3 small Persian cucumbers, peeled and diced in 1/2-inch (1.5cm) pieces
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt for the cucumbers, plus 1 1/4 teaspoons for seasoning the salad
  • 3 large tomatoes, diced in 1/2-inch (1.5cm) pieces
  • 12 radishes, sliced
  • 1 cup (20g) packed fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup (20g) packed flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 large toasted or stale flatbreads, such as pita (see headnote), crumbled
  • 1 1/4 cups (300ml) buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 2 tablespoons cider or white wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sumac, plus 1/2 teaspoon for serving
  • freshly-ground black pepper
  • To make the sumac onions, in a small bowl mix the onions with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons sumac, and salt. If the onions seem a little dry, add a touch more olive oil until they are glistening. Set aside.
  • Put the diced cucumbers in a strainer or colander, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and let stand over a bowl for about 10 to 15 minutes, to drain away some of the liquid. (Don't let them sit too long, though, as you don't want them to get soggy.)
  • Put the tomatoes, radishes, mint, parsley, thyme, and crumbled flatbread in a large bowl. Blot the drained cucumbers with a paper or kitchen towel, then add them along with the buttermilk, 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons sumac, half the sumac onions, and several good grinds of black pepper.
  • Mix everything together then transfer to a serving platter. Strew the remaining sumac onions over the salad, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of sumac. Serve immediately.

Notes

Note: This recipe makes about four servings as a main course, six servings as a side salad.