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
Just got my [autographed] copy of Jerusalem this week and can't wait to try all the recipes!
Thanks so much for sharing this book and recipe. I´ve already made it the third time and really love it! Thanks with greetings from Germany
Every time you feature a cookbook, I am dying to start my own collection (with that one first), I just wish my little apt had space for all of them! This one looks great, so does the recipe.
Hi, this is the first time i've commented on one of your posts but your blog has been my homepage for over a year now :) This Fattoush looks AMAZING, I have never tried it but am going to make it at the end of the week, when I have all of the ingredients. I'll be replacing the milk and yogurt with soy milk and yogurt though, this should still work shouldn't it? Thanks xx
HS: Hi Georgie: please report back if you give it a go - to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how soy milk/yogurt will play out here.
I have this book for sometime already (UK edition) and EVERY single recipe is to die for. Ottolenghi never disappoints.
I'm crazy in love with this book and have already made several recipes with great success. This fattoush was on my list and it's omething I'm gonna make very, very soon. Love your picture!
made this earlier this week. the layers of flavor were never ending. i loved the fresh crunch, cooling yogurt texture and sweet tomato flavor. hearty enough as a meal. loved it. i cannot wait for the book! thank you for sharing a recipe early!
Ottolenghi is such an inspiration, and Plenty is one of my most-loved cookbooks. Can't wait to check out Jerusalem too.
Yup yogurt is a reasonably good substitution for butter milk and at least it gives a good essence of butter milk
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It looks amazing. I never made buttermilk with the yogurt and milk. I add a teaspoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk. I'll try the yogurt version when I make this salad. I have to admit that I did not know of Yotam Ottolenghi before this post. I can see why his books are so popular.
Didn't have time to make the "buttermilk" so used plain Greek yogurt as the only substitution. Worked wonderfully. Excellent recipe!
I can't think of a better way to use up those last precious summer tomatoes!
I love this book.I am a Ottelnghi addict. I bought it a few weeks ago and have made lots of things already. It's funny though that the front cover of my book (bought in Australia) and some of the photos inside are different. I am dying to try the chocolate yeast cake !!! happy cooking everyone
I love your blog and your recepies. I'll try this salad now. I'm hoping that It'll be okay translating it to Danish and bringing it on my blog of course naming you as the original source? I can't find an email anywhere?? If it's not okay I'll of course remove it again. Anyway, the cookbook looks so tempting and interresting. I might buy it although I like you have (almost) 100 cookbooks already :-) and the shelves are bursting.
That cookbook looks incredible! I will have to buy this asap
I am BEYOND excited to get this book. Thanks for the sneak peak! Their recipes and photos are spectacular-- and I've made a lot of their dishes. Each is wonderful and unique. I can't wait to get a taste of Jerusalem (which has some of the best food in the world). Now, when are you coming out with a new book!? :)
Wow! This sounds so amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe and some of the pages from the book, appreciate it!
That does it! Ottolenghi's book is moving from my wish list to my shopping cart. I loved Plenty and this fattoush looks incredible.
I love his books so much, can't wait to get my hands on this one too! This recipe looks delicious and whatever that twisted bread you shared a picture of is, wow.
Heidi, I am always so inspired by the bowl recipes you feature here. It just so happens I have all those ingredients, and I am so excited to try this. You're an inspiration! Thanks for what you do.
This cookbook looks beautiful. I love the look of that twisted chocolatey loaf. Reason to get the book for sure!
well, this post of yours just cost me AU$28, to preorder this cookbook !!( due in 7 days from uk online bookplace. www.bookdepository.com"( postage included in all prices) best deal for Aussies.. Enjoy recipes and cultures in cookbooks. adds depth and authenticity and glorious phhotos. thanks, Heide for the lovely recipe and ideas..
I'm so inspired by the story behind this cookbook, and the fattoush looks delicious!
Thank you for sharing the recipe and snapshots of the book. As you can tell from previous comments, Lebanese are proud of their fatouch. In my home, we prepare a dressing of sumac, pomegnarate molasses, pressed garlic and olive oil in addition to fresh mint and flat leaf parsley. We toast pita bread rather than deep frying as it is traditionally prepared. It is my preschooler's favorite salad and on weekly rotation along with your mixed mushroom soup :-)
OOH does that sound good. Plenty is a gorgeous book and this looks even more so.
This cookbook looks beautiful! Thanks for the teaser recipe, I can't wait to test it out :)
ock, indeed! i've been tapping my feet, ever so impatiently, awaiting the latest. if this fattoush is any indication, we're in for a real treat. radishes! of course.
Fattoush is one of my favorite salads ever! I'm absolutely looking forward to getting my hands on this book.
Hi Heidi, do you know if there are many recipes in this cookbook suitable for vegans (or easily adapted into vegan recipes)? While we're talking about Ottolenghi, I was wondering the same about his book Plenty - is it worth buying for vegans? Thanks!
When I went to Ottolenghi in London, I completely fell in love with the place. I am determined to purchase his books and re-create even a smidge of what I've eaten there!
How funny, my friend and I were just talking about this book! It looks absolutely gorgeous with all sorts of amazing and unique recipes. I'm looking forward to picking up a copy!!
The roulade dough/bread loaf pictures look delicious too! Can't wait to check that recipe out.
What a lovely preview! This just whets my appetite all the more--both for the cookbook itself (yet another, when my shelves are already near to bursting) and the salad you chose to feature. I love the colors!
The UK edition has been on the selves here in Australia for a month or so already. Plenty is one of my favorite cookbooks and so i got my hands on Jerusalem pretty quickly. I tried the parsley and barley salad and it was everything I had expected. I can't wait to try this fattoush now.
Just yesterday I saw a list of Time magazine's must-have, fall-release cookbooks, and was thinking/hoping/wondering if I would see you highlight any of them - thanks so much for sharing this one.
Bread salads of any sort always fascinate me in that they are not obvious; always a surprise. I LOVE this idea and have some black crims and yellow pear tomatoes dying for use. I'll throw in some red and white quinoa I do believe. Thanks for the lead on a homemade buttermilk Heidi!
This looks fantastic. I have Plenty and have made many wonderful recipes from this gorgeous cookbook. I practically swoon looking at the photos and they taste as good as they look! I think we have a real kinship now. My daughter counted my cookbooks and I am up to 101 (not counting the ones she couldn't see tucked behind the others on the bookshelf)! Keep up the fantastic blog!
Looks delicious! Does this book have the same puffy cover that the US version of "Plenty" has? I am not sure what the general consensus is on this feature, but I really prefer a plain cover or dustjacket. It feels delicate and more suited to the bathtub than the kitchen.
Hi Heidi, I love your blog and your wonderful cookbook. We sell your book in our gourmet market. I thought you would be interested to know that we will be hosting Yotam's Jerusalem book signing on November 4 from 12 to 3 at Joan's on Third.
You're right. I love anything Ottolenghi! Plenty was such a treat, and I really like the concept for Jerusalem. Thanks for the sneak peek!
This salad sounds wonderful! And thank you for the "Jerusalem" preview! I'm very excited for it to come out, but I still haven't bought "Plenty," so soon I'll have the difficult decision of which to splurge on first...
This salad is a beauty! What a lovely recipe, and beautiful book!
Mmmmm. Middle eastern food is the most under-represented in my life. This is gorgeous. Also, I made the yogurt cucumbery dip from a few posts back. Pow! Delish!
Books looks gorgeous! Thanks for sharing recipe.
How funny, I think I actually heard about this cookbook from an interview on NPR! Looks delicious, I can't wait to see the rest of it!
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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