Today we are going to make a wonderful Eggplant Fattoush Salad with Yogurt Dressing, inspired by Nema’s Fattouch from the cookbook Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley. We were so excited to try this recipe for a lovely twist on the traditional fattoush we all know so well. Fattoush is a classic Lebanese salad made up of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, and a lot of fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, purslane). Fattouch gets its distinct flavor mostly from its dressing of olive oil, lemon, sumac, and pomegranate molasses and its topping of crunchy fried bread topping. This salad has it all salty, sweet, sour, crunchy, fresh, filling, and healthy. Best of all it’s versatile, mix and match different greens to make it your own. Give our recipe a try and let us know what you think.
What you will need to make our Eggplant Fattoush with Yogurt Dressing
How to Make Eggplant Fattoush with Yogurt Dressing
Prepare your Veggies
Wash and dry your vegetables and herbs. Your countertop will be bursting with beautiful vibrant colors, take a moment to appreciate nature’s simple beauty before chopping them up! For meal planning, you could chop up all the vegetables and keep them stored in the fridge until you are ready to serve. This is not a salad that keeps well when mixed with the dressing.
- Do not dice the cucumbers and tomatoes too small, we want them to have a nice bite and add volume to the dish.
- Use a knife or mandoline to thinly shave your radishes into discs.
- Make sure your herbs are properly washed and thoroughly dried before chopping. If not you will have a wilted stuck together mess.
- You will find two types of thyme at the supermarket, we are looking for the ones with long leaves, not the short ones.
- Do not chop the wild thyme and purslane remove them from the sprigs and leave them whole.
Sumac Onions
This is where that salty-sour flavor comes from in the fattoush salad. It is very simple to make. Thinly slice half a red onion, add in sumac, olive oil, and salt and give it a mix. Set it aside and give it some time for the flavors to really marinate and for the onions to soften.
Prepare the Yogurt Dressing
In a medium bowl whisk together the yogurt, milk, and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste and set aside in the fridge while we prepare the rest of the ingrediants.
Grill the Eggplants
To make this easier look for the long thin eggplants. Cut the eggplants into discs about 1.5 cm thick (or other shapes depending on the size of your eggplant).
Brush both sides with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place on a medium-high pre-heated grill pan for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked. Set aside.
Toast the Bread
Either fry or bake. We prefer baking, it’s less messy. For baking, preheat your oven to its max temperature. Tear your bread into medium-sized pieces, drizzle with 1.5 tbsp of olive oil. Give it a mix with your hands and place them in an even layer onto a baking sheet (don’t crowd the pan), you might need to do this in 2 batches. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 3-4 minutes, flipping them over midway through. For frying heat up a little bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan, it does not need to be deep. Lightly fry for 3 to 4 minutes until brown. Remove quickly once it starts browning as the bread will continue to darken in color after removing it from the oil
Mix up your Fattoush!
When you are ready to serve place your herbs and diced vegetables into a bowl. Drizzle with the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, 1tsp of sumac, and half of your sumac onions. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Dollop your yogurt dressing onto the vegetables and mix well.
Place fattoush into your serving plate and top with the grilled eggplants, the rest of your sumac onions, and toasted bread. This salad should be served and eaten immediately! Feel free to add a splash of pomegranate molasses or pomegranate seeds on top for an extra burst of flavor!
If you make this Eggplant Fattoush with Yogurt Dressing! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #thetablediaries on Instagram. We love seeing all the recipes you and your family enjoy.
Eggplant Fattoush with Yogurt Dressing
Ingredients
- 2-3 small cucumbers diced washed and dried. If you are using an English cucumber, split in half and scoop out the watery seed-filled core. Dice the firm flesh you are left with.
- 3 tomatoes diced washed and dried
- 130 grams eggplant
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 40 grams purslane about 1 cup
- 20 grams mint leaves roughly chopped washed and dried thoroughly
- 20 grams parsley leaves roughly chopped washed and dried thoroughly
- 2 tbsp wild thyme (removed from sprig) washed and dried thoroughly
- 11 radishes thinly sliced washed and dried thoroughly
- 2 large pita bread rounds roughly teared
- 1 tsp sumac plus extra for serving
- salt and pepper to taste
- drizzle of pomegranate molasses optional
Dressing
- 200 grams Greek yogurt or any thick yogurt 1 cup
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Sumac Onions
- 100 grams red onion very thinly sliced 1/2 large onion
- 1 tbsp sumac
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
For the Sumac Onions
- Mix together the onions, sumac, olive oil, and salt. Set this aside to allow the onions to marinate and soften.
For the Yogurt Dressing
- Whisk together yogurt, milk, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and place in fridge until ready to serve.
Eggplants
- Cut the eggplants in round disks 1.5 cm thick (or other shapes depending on the side of your eggplants), brush both sides with some olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat your grill pan on medium-high, brush with some olive oil to prevent sticking. Add your eggplants and grill for about 2 min on each side. Set aside.
For the Toasted Bread
- Either fry or bake. We prefer baking, it's less messy. For baking, preheat your oven to its max temperature. Tear your bread into medium-sized pieces, drizzle with 1.5 tbsp of olive oil. Give it a mix with your hands and place them in an even layer onto a baking sheet (don't crowd the pan), you might need to do this in 2 batches. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 3-4 minutes, flipping them over midway through. For frying heat up a little bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan, it does not need to be deep. Lightly fry for 3 to 4 minutes until brown. Remove quickly once it starts browning as the bread will continue to darken in color after removing it from the oil. Set aside.
Eggplant Fattoush Assembly
- When you are ready to serve place your herbs and diced vegetables into a bowl. Drizzle with the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, 1tsp of sumac, and half of your sumac onions. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Dollop your yogurt dressing onto the vegetables and mix well.
- Place fattoush into your serving plate and top with the grilled eggplants, the rest of your sumac onions, and toasted bread. This salad should be served and eaten immediately! Feel free to add a drizzle of pomegranate molasses or pomegranate seeds on top for an extra burst of flavor!
