Fattoush Salad with Lamb combines crispy golden croutons with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, and dressed in a dressing of lemon juice, sumac and olive oil. Served with juicy grilled lamb, you will love this salad for its incredible flavours, satisfying crunch and loads of vegetables.

Transport yourself to the Middle East with this delicious Fattoush Salad with Grilled Lamb. The succulent lamb pairs perfectly with the fresh vegetables, and the sumac and pomegranate molasses add a unique and exotic flavour to the dressing.

What is a Fattoush Salad?

A fattoush salad is a salad that originates in the Middle East, and is typically made with unique fried bread, crunchy green vegetables like lettuce, cucumber and green onions, mint and parsley, and tomatoes.

The dressing usually incorporates sumac, which is a delicious spice (in fact, one of my favourites). If you haven't tried Sumac, now is the time! It's dark red / purple in colour, and is actually a crushed berry. It has a strong citrusy flavour that pairs really well with lemon juice, olive oil and salt. You can pick it up in the spice section of most supermarkets.

What makes this Fattoush Salad recipe so good?

In my version, I sprinkle sumac over the croutons, which really elevates the croutons to next-level deliciousness.

I'm also going to take this salad and make it main meal by adding thinly sliced lamb. We also marinate this in sumac and olive oil, and it's a beautiful flavour combination.

This is a big salad, so it's a great way to get your veggies in. With a big dressing, you need a big dressing, and this recipe doesn't disappoint. I've used Pomegranate molasses in my dressing, which gives the whole salad a really beautiful pomegranate taste, and brings out the flavours with a bit of sweetness. Pomegranate molasses is also fairly regularly available at bigger supermarkets now, or you can order it on Amazon or pick it up at your local ethnic food shop. If you can't find it you can always substitute it with honey. This will give you a nice sweetness and balance the flavours of the dressing, but you'll miss the pomegranate flavour. If you are looking for another use for pomegranate molasses, my mum makes a delicious mocktail with pomegranate molasses, ginger beer and lime. It tastes almost like a mix between creaming soda and sherbet - it's delicious!

How to prepare Fattoush Salad

First, prepare your succulent lamb by drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling with sumac, salt, and pepper. Let it marinate while you turn on your grill and prepare your bread. Tear it into pieces, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sumac, salt, and pepper before grilling until golden and crispy.

Next up, it's time to chop up your fresh veggies and herbs. Rinse your lettuce, mint, and parsley, pat dry, and chop them up along with some quartered tomatoes, sliced cucumber, and finely sliced celery. Add everything to a large serving bowl and mix in your toasted bread.

Now, it's time to cook your lamb. Heat up a frying pan on medium-high heat and cook the lamb for 3 minutes on each side until it's browned and cooked to perfection. If your lamb is on the thicker side, add an extra 1-2 minutes on each side.

Finally, it's time to dress your salad. Squeeze some lemon juice into a jug or bowl and mix in some olive oil, white wine vinegar, pomegranate molasses (or honey), sumac, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Mix the toasted bread through the salad and pour over the dressing. Toss everything together and serve your sliced lamb over the heaped salad.

If you're looking for a vegetarian option, simply omit the lamb and add some chickpeas or tofu. This Fattoush Salad with Grilled Lamb (or veggie alternative) is a crowd-pleaser that will have everyone asking for seconds. So what are you waiting for? Give it a try!

What you need to make Fattoush Salad with Lamb

Spices - you'll need Sumac for the marinade, the dressing and the croutons.
Dressing - For the dressing you will need lemon, white wine vinegar, olive oil, pomegranate molasses (which you can substitute with honey), and, you guessed it, more sumac.
Croutons - Tear up bread rolls or pita bread, and cover in oil, salt and sumac, then pop under the grill.
Herbs - Parsley and mint are delicious in this salad, and soften up nicely in the dressing.
Vegetables - use crisp, in season vegetables. I've used celery, tomatoes, cucumber and cos lettuce.
Lamb - Lamb backstrap or eye of loin fillet is a great cut for this recipe because it's really quick and simple to cook, and is beautifully tender.

Top tip

Make sure you only dress the salad just before you are about to serve it. The croutons will become soggy if you dress it too early. You want them to have the flavour of the dressing, but not to have lost their crispness.

Substitutions

Alternative proteins - Option to swap lamb backstrap for lamb cutlets, or you can use chicken or steak instead if you prefer.
Vegetarian - Use chickpeas or tofu instead of Lamb.
Dairy Free - This recipe is dairy free.
Gluten Free - Use gluten free bread rolls.

Optional Add-ins

You can add chickpeas if you like, or toasted almonds would be a lovely addition.

Kid-Friendly Variations

To make this recipe simple for kids, you can add their cut vegetables to their plate before they go in the salad.
You can also keep some croutons plain for them.
You can serve them slices of plain lamb.

Sliced lamb with cut vegetables and croutons on a plate

Equipment

You will need an oven grill, a baking tray, a frying pan, a stovetop.

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