Na’ama’s Fattoush Recipe
A beautiful fattoush recipe and a preview of Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's new book, Jerusalem.
I know a lot of you are excited about Yotam Ottolenghi's new cookbook (or anything Ottolenghi, really). As am I. He was working on this, Jerusalem, with his partner Sami Tamimi when I saw him in London last year, and it is as beautifully done as I'd imagined. Both Yotam and Sami were born in Jerusalem - Sami in the Arab east side and Yotam in the Jewish west, and the book is rooted in their stories, insights, and experiences. I'm going to run snapshots of a few spreads below, along with a crowd-pleasing stunner of a fattoush recipe that you should absolutely make before the very last of the best tomatoes are gone for the year.
Jerusalem will be released in the US next week, it was photographed by Jonathan Lovekin (who also photographed Plenty) and the stunning chapter headers and interiors were designed by here design. This is a video of Yotam introducing the US edition of Jerusalem with Sami. And Katy McLaughlin's piece in the Wall Street Journal: Revisit the Food of Jerusalem. And Yotam and Sami in The Telegraph as well: Flavours of Jerusalem.
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Na'ama's Fattoush Recipe
As Yotam and Sami note, there are plenty of unique variations on this type of salad ..."This fabulous salad is probably Sami's mother's creation; Sami can't recall anyone else in the neighborhood making it. She called it fattoush, which is only true to the extent that it includes chopped vegetables and bread. She added a kind of homemade buttermilk and didn't fry her bread, which makes it terrible comforting." For those of you who like a bit more structure in your bread salad consider toasting, grilling or pan-frying your bread before adding to the salad.
scant 1 cup / 200 g Greek yogurt
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp / 200 ml whole milk
2 large stale Turkish flatbread or naan (9 oz /250 g in total)
3 large tomatoes (13 oz /380 g in total), cut into 2/3-inch / 1.5cm dice
3 oz / 100 g radishes, thinly sliced3 Lebanese or mini cucumbers (9 oz / 250 g in total), peeled and
chopped into 2/3-inch / 1.5cm dice2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 oz / 15 g fresh mint
scant 1 oz / 25 g flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp dried mint
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup / 60 ml olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 tbsp cider or white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
1 tbsp sumac or more to taste, to garnish
Start at least 3 hours and up to a day in advance by placing both yogurt and milk in a bowl. Whisk well and leave in a cool place or in the fridge until bubbles form on the surface. What you get is a kind of homemade buttermilk, but less sour.
Tear the bread into bite-size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Add 2/3 of your fermented yogurt mixture, followed by the rest of the ingredients, mix well, decide if you want to add more yogurt mixture, and leave for 10 minutes for all the flavors to combine.
Spoon the fattoush into serving bowls, drizzle with some olive oil, and garnish generously with sumac.
Serves 6.
From Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.
Prep time: 180 minutes
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Comments
Thanks for sharing...can't wait to buy cook book.
Never had this in my life, so curious though to give it a try!
What an awesome looking book! The recipes, the photography, the vibe...I want it. And that fattoush!
This looks beautiful and delicious, but what's that braided chocolate roll? Intriguing!
I can't wait to get this cookbook. I just love his Plenty cookbook. The carrot salad in Plenty is one of my favorites.
This book is stunning, as are all of Ottolenghi's books! Loved the fattoush recipe!
A little thrill runs down my spine when I find a cookbook that is a window into another world - off to mix yoghurt and milk...
Already out in the UK (lucky us). The book is stunning!!!. I have already tried 'Basmati & Wild rice with chickpeas, currants and herbs' - delicious, and 'Mutabbaq' a sweet cheesy dessert, very nice. Don't miss the 'couscous with tomato and onion', so simple but perfect with a salad.
Wow, this book looks beautiful. I have never tried this style of Middle Eastern recipe before, and definitely not Fattoush. Even as a celiac it should be fairly easy to replicate. Thanks for the idea for one last tomato-centric recipe!
I can't wait to try this! It looks so comforting and delicious!
I have been waiting for that cookbook! Thanks for the sneak at it. That combination of veggies and bread sounds fantastic. I'm glad there's still a good selection to choose from at the farmers' market for this salad!
In Lebanon, fattoush always includes purslane (called mâche in France and ba'leh here) and never yogurt. It is also served with radishes and diced green peppers and the pit croutons are always fried to stay crispy. The big difference also is the Lebanese fattoush ALWAYS includes SUMAC in the dressing. Sumac is now ready to be harvested here (dried and powdered afterwards). Interesting regional take on fattoush!
The book looks stunning. And so many wholesome flavours going on in that salad! Gotta love Ottolenghi's recipes. Thanks for sharing.
I was lucky enough to see Sami and Yotam give a cooking demonstration and answer questions from the audience in Bath last week, (UK) which I have written about in my latest post. The book is beautiful and there is such a feeling of joy from the photos and recipes, showing that food can unite people where politics can't. They celebrate the sameness of their two cultures, rather than their differences (Yotam is from the Jewish side of Jerusalem, Sami from the Arab), You will love it!
Heidi, this is a gorgeous fattoush. I'm very interested in the yogurt element, so delicious. My fattoush, Lebanese-style, is with lots of sumac too, and a lemon vinaigrette. I served it to the poet Naomi Shihab Nye not long ago, a wonderful combination...poetry and fattoush! http://www.maureenabood.com/2012/04/19/fattoush-salad-and-poetry-in-motion/
I adore him as well. When I first walked into cafe/market, I felt like I was home... gorgeous! Can't wait to hold this book.
Sounds great! So many amazing but simple ingredients! Love it!
I love this recipe book and have also started cooking from it. So many delicious flavours. I did the roasted butternut squash with zaatar. I have my eye on one of the cookie recipes next... !
I saw this cookbook when I was ordering a few books from Amazon. It looks like there are numerous tasty delights hidden in there. The recipe you highlighted looks supreme!
That book looks incredible! I love cookbooks that go into depth about the culture of the food. Can't wait to check it out!
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