Meatless Mondays with La Bella Figura

I've been pretty sick this last week, and I've got a cough that I am having a hard time shaking. I made an everything-but-the kitchen-sink soup last week to help my irritated throat and lungs, but in my sick haste to get it down my throat, I forgot to take pictures, oh well.

Instead, I bring you one of my favorite salad recipes that always puts a bit of a smile on my face even it it's between coughs.

Fattoush

Who doesn't love a bread salad? Fattoush would be the more exotic cousin of the Italian panzanella, but instead of bits of stale crusty bread to soak up the dressing, fattoush uses the pita. People argue what's the most important ingredient in the fattoush: the pita, the tomaotes, the herbs, or the dressing. To me, it's all about balance. It's the way the flavors come together and just explode in your mouth. Here, I've made it as a side dish, but to make it a main dish, I may add some chickpeas and feta, which is not exactly what I'd call traditional, but a veggie has got to squeeze in protein where she can.

3-4 pita pocket breads, cut into 3/4 inch strips

2-4 cloves of garlic (for an added immune boost I go for the full four)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon jouice (about 2 lemons)
1/2 cup olive oil plus more for brushing the pita strips
1 tsp powdered Sumac, plus a bit more for sprinkling just before serving
2 heads of Romaine lettuce, washed and dried
3 green onions thinly sliced
2-3 ripe tomatoes diced
1/2- 1 full seedless Persian cucumber diced (if you can't find a regular english cucumber will do just fine)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped (this is not traditional but I like the crunch it adds)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven heats mash the garlic and salt together in a mortar and pestle until it forms a paste. Put garlic pasteinto a bowl and add lemon juice and olive oil. Whisk together and set aside.

Brush the cut pita strips with olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake until pita strips are crispy and just beginning to brown (8-11 mins). Watch carefully because they can go from golden to burnt rather quickly. When they have become crisp and just golden, remove from oven and let cool. Once cool, cruble into chunks.

Remove outer leaves and cut ends from Romaine lettuce. Cut Romaine into fourths lengthwise and chop into pieces. Put the Romaine into a large bowl.

Add tomatoes, green onions, green pepper, cucumbers, parsley and mint to the lettuce. Add the dressing. If serving immediately add the toasted pitas and let sit for a few minutes to soak up some of the dressing. Since it's just my husband and I, I like to dole out the salad servings first and add the pitas to the individual serving. I store the leftover salad and pitas separately, so when I eat it later, the pitas haven't become all soggy.

I purchased the felafel and the hummus at my local grocery store. We are fortunate they make both in house fresh daily. It makes for the perfect eastern Mediterranean feast!