i love, love lebanese food. this is one of my favorite salads made with tomatoes, cucumbers, and toasted pita bread. i’ve had it many places, and it is always different. the traditional way to make it is with sumac, it gives it a very burnt red color; i have never prepared food with sumac and honestly should look it up. the way i make it is the way it was introduced to me in a little restaurant 30 years ago. the italians make a similar bread salad, panzanella.
the following recipe makes enough for two people to have it as a main course:
rip one large piece of pita bread in half, then open up the pocket and split it apart. put it on a cookie sheet and toast it under the broiler until it is well toasted. take the pan out and turn over the bread occasionally, the edges curl up and will burn before the rest of the piece is toasted.
cut up about 2 cups of tomatoes; i used about 7 – 1 1/2″ salad tomatoes on the vine. i’ve said this before, but especially in winter, smaller tomatoes have much better flavor. add about 6″ of a seedless english cucumber, diced; i like the skin left on. add about 1/3 cup chopped mint, and about 2/3 cup chopped italian, flat leaf parsley. you can also add dried mint. some people use only dried mint, but i love the fresh mint or fresh and dried together. add the juice from one lemon, about 1/3 cup olive oil [to taste, really], and 1/2 t sea salt [also to taste]. press one large clove of garlic through a press and finely chop. mix well, then add the toasted pita, broken up into pieces. i leave the garlic out to serve my daughter, then add the clove to what is left, essentially having double the garlic. if you love raw garlic, add two cloves; it fights cancer. so i hear.
