Avocado Fattoush With Mint Vinaigrette

Avocado Fattoush With Mint Vinaigrette
Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(167)
Comments
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The crunchy, juicy salad known in the Middle East as fattoush is just one of the region’s many thrifty and tasty uses for day-old or dried-out bread. Stale bread is better than fresh for some dishes because it will absorb more liquid, such as the juices from a ripe tomato or — in this recipe — a lively dressing with mint leaves, lemon juice and a bit of honey to smooth out the flavors. The Israeli-American chef Einat Admony, who created this rewrite of the classic, took the radical step of leaving out the tomato and adding avocado, a very American ingredient.

To make the bread shards very crisp, toast and let cool before breaking. To make them more luxurious, tear up the bread and toast it in a hot skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil, butter, or both. —Julia Moskin

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

    For the Vinaigrette

    • ¼cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
    • ½teaspoon Dijon mustard
    • teaspoons honey
    • ¼teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
    • ½teaspoon chopped shallot or ½ small garlic clove
    • ½cup grapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil
    • 8 to 10fresh mint leaves

    For the Salad

    • 1pita bread or other flatbread such as lavash, preferably slightly stale
    • 2mini seedless cucumbers (also called Persian cucumbers), chilled
    • 1Hass avocado, ripe but firm, chilled
    • ½cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
    • ½cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
    • 2large handfuls (a scant 2 ounces) arugula
    • 2large handfuls (a scant 2 ounces) watercress
    • ½cup crumbled feta cheese
    • ¼teaspoon sumac
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

441 calories; 39 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 26 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 438 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the vinaigrette: In a blender, combine the lemon juice, mustard, honey, ¼ teaspoon salt and shallots or garlic. Blend until smooth. With the machine running, slowly pour in the oil and blend until mixture is emulsified. Add mint leaves and blend very briefly, just until incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 1 day.

  2. Step 2

    Make the salad: If using pita, separate the two layers. Toast bread until crunchy, let cool, then break into rough bite-size pieces. Set aside. Cut chilled cucumbers in half lengthwise and turn cut sides down. Cut crosswise into slices ¼-inch thick. Peel and pit the chilled avocado and cut into ½-inch cubes. Combine cucumber and avocado in a salad bowl. Add the mint, parsley, arugula and watercress.

  3. Step 3

    Pour in about ¼ cup of the vinaigrette and toss gently. Taste, then add more dressing and salt as needed. (Save unused dressing for future use.) Sprinkle feta over the top, then add the sumac and bread. Serve immediately.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
167 user ratings
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Comments

Traditional Fattoush is a very simple Lebanese salad that uses very basic ingredients, mint, parsley, tomato, cucumber,and toasted pita bread. The dressing is equally pure and underscores the simplicity of the dish. It is made from olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sumac, mint and salt. A tip on toasting the Pita, dip the pieces in olive oil and bake at a low temperature, in a tin with a rack. It comes out perfectly baked, and crunchy every time. This is more a Mediterranean Inspired salad.

This was delicious. Avocado needs to be chilled or it'll just get mushy. I added blistered grape tomatoes and used naan bread made crispy. For making the dressing, I used an immersion blender in a tall container because it is easier to clean and store the leftover dressing in the container.

The base salad is delicious but I wasn't as huge of a fan of the dressing. I'd recommend olive oil, lime juice, dried mint, garlic and a bit of aleppo pepper.

So good! I felt the dressing needed extra mustard. My family of 3 easily finished the entire recipe, and thank goodness we had a filling cake for dessert or we'd still be hungry.

This may be my favorite salad ever!!! I crave it. I will admit to not making the dressing as written (use a basic vin for 2 servings: 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup, salt, pepper). It's really the combination of greens and herbs that makes this.

Good way to satisfy a craving for fatoosh when tomatoes are out of season. Unlike the purists, I thought the dressing was absolutely delicious. Little gems also good in this in place of or in addition to the arugula and watercress.

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Credits

Adapted from Einat Admony, Bar Bolonat, New York

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