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Method

18 steps

1. 1

   Aside from the delicious swirl of lemon, parsley, mint, garlic, scallions against sweet roasted squash and nutty roasted brussels sprouts, one of the key flavors/ingredients in a classic fattoush salad is ground sumac (read more here too), a stunning dark red spice that tastes like paprika has been crossed with citric acid — it’s, in fact, sour and one of my favorite spices.

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   However, because most big grocery stores don’t carry it, it puts me in a position I generally try to avoid, which is sharing a recipe with an obscure ingredient.

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   Here’s the deal, though: If you don’t have it, you’ll be fine without it.

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   Replace it with an equal amount of paprika (not a smoky one) and another squeeze of lemon if you so desire.

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   You probably won’t find anything to be missing because the salad has plenty of flavor without it.

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   If you’d like to seek some out, however, I consider it abundantly worth the $5 investment.

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   You can buy it here , here , here or here (a new-ish spice shop on the Lower East Side), or likely any Middle Eastern market you can get to.

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   I replaced my old dusty bottle yesterday at Kalustyan’s .

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   Serves 2 in a meal-sized portion or 4 as an appetizer or side — i.e. it’s not a huge bowl, but it’s hearty

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    Prepare vegetables: Heat oven to 400F. Coat two baking sheets with a tablespoon or so of olive oil each.

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    Prepare pita chips: Split pita into two layers and cut or tear into large bite-sized chunks.

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    Toss in a bowl with a little less than 1 remaining tablespoon olive oil and a couple pinches of salt.

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    Spread on a baking sheet (I reused my brussels sheet, because they were done first) and toast in oven with vegetables for 5 to 8 minutes, until golden and crisp.

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    Make dressing: Soak sumac in water for 5 minutes, then whisk in remaining dressing ingredients. Adjust seasonings to taste; you may find you need more lemon juice or vinegar.

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    Assemble salad: In a medium-large bowl, combine warm roasted vegetables and scallions.

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    Toss with 1/2 to 2/3 dressing, or to taste.

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    Stir in chopped herbs, then pita chips; add more dressing and adjust salt and pepper levels if needed.

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    Sprinkle with sumac to finish, and serve.