This colourful salad is packed full of fresh flavours, perfect to eat as the weather heats up in Australia. A fattoush salad is characterised by Lebanese flatbread, that has been fried or toasted to be crispy. I have finally found a great gluten free Lebanese bread in Australia. The brand is Old Time Bakery and I found mine in Woolworths (not sponsored). So I had to make this classic salad. I’ve added a picture of the bread packet below.
This week in Australia from the 13-19th is National Nutrition Week run by Nutrition Australia. This years theme is to ‘Embrace Your Waste’. This salad goes perfectly with that, as you can roast up any old vegetables in the fridge and add them to the salad. Just sprinkle with olive oil and add some cumin and smoked paprika for flavour.
I use store brought meatballs from Woolworths or Coles for the salad, that are either labelled gluten free or gluten free by ingredient. Of course if you have time you could make these, or leave them out if your vegetarian and add a can of lentils or some crispy tofu.
To pimp the salad I’ve added a few of my favourite extras like crispy chickpeas and pickled onions, that I make myself. These don’t take long but if you want to save time for a mid-week dinner, you can skip roasting the chickpeas and just add canned ones to the salad. You can also swap out the pickled onion, for store brought versions or thinly sliced red onion. I’ve included both options in the recipe, so it’s up to you.
I hope you enjoy!
Kath xx
Ingredients
- SALAD:
- 1 red capsicum
- 1 zucchini
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 head of cauliflower (approx 150-200g)
- 1 tsp olive oil (extra)
- 1/2 tsp cumin, ground (extra)
- 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 400g packet meatballs
- 2 gluten free lebanese flat breads
- 1 cos lettuce or 2 small baby cos
- 200ml plain greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (or make pickled onion)
- 1 tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or make crispy chickpeas)
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
- 1 tbsp mint leaves, roughly chopped (optional)
- PICKLED ONION:
- 1 red onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tsp peppercorns
- 1 cup white vinegar
- CRISPY CHICKPEAS:
- 1 tin canned chickpeas
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- Thinly slice the capsicum into long strips. Peel the zucchini lengthways into long strips. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle evenly with 1 tsp ground cumin and the smoked paprika, garlic powder and salt. Toss to combine. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until softened.
- Cut the cauliflower into small florets. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the extra 1/2 tsp cumin. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and add the cherry tomatoes and roast for 10 minutes, or until they begin to blister. If you’re making chickpeas and pickled onion make them now, see the recipes below.
- Meanwhile spray the gluten free bread with olive oil and place on the rack of the oven or on an oven tray. Bake for 5 minutes until crunchy. Set aside to cool.
- Cook the meatballs: spray a large fry pan with oil. Cook the meatballs over medium heat, turning regularly until cooked through. About 8 minutes.
- Wash and roughly chop the lettuce into 3cm pieces.
- Mix the greek yoghurt and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Adjust the lemon juice to your taste.
- ASSEMBLY: Break up the gluten free Lebanese bread into small pieces and arrange on a serving platter. Add the lettuce, vegetables, meatballs, chickpeas, onion, pomegranate seeds, and mint leaves. Drizzle with yoghurt and serve!
CRISPY CHICKPEAS:
- Rinse and drain the chickpeas.
- Roll the chickpeas in a tea towel. This helps to remove some of the outer skin from the chickpeas and dry them. You can try and remove all the skins, but it’s up to you if you like them or not. I do about half usually.
- Place the chickpeas on a baking tray covered with baking paper.
- Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and spices. Mix to coat.
- Place in preheated oven (200C) for 20-25 minutes. You can stir or shake the pan halfway through cooking if you remember. They are done when golden, slightly darkened, dry and crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
PICKLED ONION:
- Peel and thinly slice the red onion and peel the garlic. Place in a large bowl.
- Place the sugar, salt, peppercorns and vinegar in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Place a lid on the pot and bring to the boil. Once boiling proceed to step 3 or 4 (depending on your preference for onion crispiness).
- If you want your onion softer (my preference): add the onion and garlic to the saucepan and simmer for 1-2 minutes until slightly softened.
- If you want your onion crunchy: pour the vinegar mixture over the onion and garlic in a heat proof bowl. Stir to cover the onion.
- Allow to cool to room temperature, and use immediately. Or store the onions and liquid in a non-reactive container (glass, ceramic, plastic NOT metal) in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.
