Fattoush

also called fattoush · fatoush · fattoosh · fattush · bread salad · Lebanese bread salad · pita salad · sumac salad

The table

3(300 g)Persian cucumberscut the vegetables in rough chunksdress the vegetables, stand 5 minthrow the bread in last, go straight to the table
3 medium(400 g)ripe tomatoes
6radishes
4scallions
1romaine heart
1 cupflat-leaf parsley
1/2 cupfresh mint
3 Tbs(45 mL)lemon juicewhisk the sumac dressing
1 Tbs(7 g)ground sumac
2 tsp(10 mL)pomegranate molasses
1 clove(grated)garlic
1/4 cup(60 mL)extra-virgin olive oil
1 tspkosher salt
1/2 tspblack pepper
2(torn into thumbnail pieces)day-old pita breadfry the pita in oil until brittle
3 Tbs(45 mL)olive oil
Tap anything to cross it off.

What to lay out

Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.17 things to get out.

Pans and tools

1cut the vegetables in rough chunks

2whisk the sumac dressing

4fry the pita in oil until brittle

Cooking it

Start to finish is the longest chain through the table, so branches that overlap are counted once. That is why the waits add up to more than the clock — and it only holds if you get them going together.

Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.

The clock

Start to finish
at least 5 mintwo waits that overlap count once
Needs you
4 minof the steps that give a time

3 of the 5 steps never say how long they take, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 30 min.

  1. fry the pita in oil until brittle

    4 minneeds youfrom the start

  2. whisk the sumac dressing

    not timedfrom the start

  3. cut the vegetables in rough chunks

    not timedfrom the start

  4. dress the vegetables, stand 5 min

    5 minwalk awayfrom the start

  5. throw the bread in last, go straight to the table

    not timed5 min in

Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them. Bars that line up are happening at the same time.

You'll need skillet

Goes with

See how it is written
>> title: Fattoush
>> category: Salads
>> tags: salad, lebanese, sumac, pita, pomegranate molasses
>> counters: Shawarma Counter
>> aka: fattoush, fatoush, fattoosh, fattush, bread salad, Lebanese bread salad, pita salad, sumac salad
>> pairs-with: pomegranate-molasses, tabbouleh, pita-bread
>> servings: 4
>> time: 30 min
>> step.1: fry the pita in oil until brittle
>> step.2: whisk the sumac dressing
>> step.3: cut the vegetables in rough chunks
>> step.4: dress the vegetables, stand 5 min
>> step.5: throw the bread in last, go straight to the table

Fry @day-old pita bread{2}(torn into thumbnail pieces) in @olive oil{3%Tbs}(45 mL) in a #skillet{} over medium heat ~fry{4%min}, turning constantly, until every piece is brittle and deep gold, then drain them on paper. Toasting them dry in the oven works and gives you a plainer salad; the fried bread is the point of fattoush, and it is what separates this from every other chopped salad on the board.

Whisk @lemon juice{3%Tbs}(45 mL), @ground sumac{1%Tbs}(7 g), @pomegranate molasses{2%tsp}(10 mL), @garlic{1%clove}(grated), @extra-virgin olive oil{1/4%cup}(60 mL), @kosher salt{1%tsp} and @black pepper{1/2%tsp} together until it thickens slightly. The molasses is assumed by every printed version of this salad and named by almost none of them — it is the dark sweet-sour note under the lemon.

Cut @Persian cucumbers{3}(300 g), @ripe tomatoes{3%medium}(400 g), @radishes{6}, @scallions{4} and @romaine heart{1} into rough half-inch chunks and tear @flat-leaf parsley{1%cup} and @fresh mint{1/2%cup} in with them. Chunks, not the fine dice of tabbouleh: the two salads print side by side on the board and they are opposites — one is mostly herb cut to dust, this one is mostly vegetable cut big.

Toss @&(~1)chopped vegetables{} with @&(~2)dressing{} and let them ~stand{5%min}, so the sumac and salt pull a little juice out of the tomatoes and it joins the dressing.

Throw @&(~4)fried pita{} through @&(~1)dressed vegetables{} at the very last moment and take the bowl straight to the table. From here the clock is running: the bread has about ten minutes of crunch in it, and a fattoush that has stood is a bowl of wet bread.