Fattoush

Serves 4-6

4 large or 8 small pita breads
1 to ½ cups Basic Citrus Dressing (Recipe next page)
2 tsp ground sumac (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 ½ cups to 3 cups diced tomatoes, cut ½ inch thick (3 medium tomatoes)
2 cups diced cucumbers, peeled and seeded if necessary, cut ½ inch thick
½ cup very finely diced red onion
6 tbsp finely chopped green onion (white and green parts)
1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
½ cup thinly slivered fresh mint’2 cups chopped purslane (optional)
4 cups loosely packed romaine strips, cut 1 inch wide

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pita breads on a baking sheet and bake until they are dry, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. When cool enough to handle, break the bread into large bite-size pieces.

In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing and sumac, if using, and add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large salad bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, green onion, parsley, and mint, then add the pita pieces, the purslane, if using, and the romaine, and toss with dressing. Serve immediately.

Basic Citrus Dressing

Makes ¾ cups