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Asparagus fattoush

Fattoush is a salad featuring fried bread that originates in Lebanon. Here I have included asparagus, but green beans or sugar snaps would work great as well.
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Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Course Soups and Salad
Servings 4
Gluten Free

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup natural unsweetened Greek yoghurt
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 25 g butter
  • 2 Turkish flatbreads or naan breads large (ideally stale), torn into bite-sized pieces (gluten-free if required)
  • 3 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 bunch asparagus trimmed, cut into thirds
  • 3 baby radishes thinly sliced
  • 2 Lebanese cucumbers deseeded, diced
  • 1-2 spring onions sliced
  • ½ cup mint and flat-leaf parsley chopped
  • ½ lemon juice
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon ground sumac

Instructions
 

  • Mix yoghurt and milk together and leave on bench while you prepare salad.
  • Heat olive oil and butter in a large frying pan. Add bread and garlic and fry until golden and crispy (about 5 minutes). Season and toss with a good pinch of salt.
  • Place asparagus in a heatproof bowl or a pot and pour in boiling water to cover. Leave for a few minutes to lightly cook, then drain and run under cold water (or plunge into bowl of iced water) to refresh.
  • In a large bowl, toss asparagus, radish, cucumber, spring onion, parsley and mint with the lemon juice, a good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and the yoghurt dressing. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Gently toss through half the crunchy bread.
  • Serve immediately scattered with the remaining crunchy bread and sprinkled with sumac.

Notes

Use gluten-free bread for fattoush if required.
Sumac is a reddish purple powder made by grinding up dried berries from the shrub of the same name. It has a tart flavour (much like lemon) and adds a lemony taste to many Middle Eastern dishes. I recommend you try to seek some out, but if you can’t find it you can substitute it with a little lemon zest or leave it out altogether from this recipe.
Serve this salad with Arabian roast chicken, pomegranate sauce & pilav, and beetroot, spiced almond, date & feta salad for a Middle Eastern inspired feast.