Na’ama’s Fattoush

For members of the Muslim faith, the season of Ramadan (spanning April 1st -May 1 in 2022) is dedicated to turning inward, engaging in prayer, and observing soul-cleansing daily fasts from dawn to dusk, only breaking the fast with a light meal after the sun has set. One of the dishes on many tables in Levantine countries during Ramadan is fattoush. It may be served during the evening breaking of the fast and is often part of the celebratory spread that marks the end of the month of abstinence.

According to Chef Sami Tamimi, who shares this recipe for his mother’s fattoush in Jerusalem – the cookbook he co-authored with Yotam Ottolenghi, each cook, each family, and each community has their own variation of this classic dish.  Families engage in lively debates over whether to dice or slice the veggies, the size of the dice, whether or not to include lettuce, and whether or not to toast or fry the bread. What they all agree on is that the veggies must be fresh, ripe, and flavorful. Our weekly sale from March 31st – April 6th celebrates the culinary traditions of Ramadan and you’ll find many of the ingredients needed to pull together this deliciously simple dish! Tamimi’s mother’s recipe did not call for lettuce, though we listed it here as an optional add-in for those who feel that the crunch of the lettuce is a necessary component of this dish. Regarding whether to slice or dice? We’ll leave that up to you!