One of my favorite restaurants in Scottsdale, Pita Jungle, serves the best Fattoush salad I have ever eaten. Although most fattoush salads are all vegetables, this particular version has brown rice and lentils. Not only is this salad hearty, but it is also served warm and cold.
After eating it several times, I figured why not make it myself a little healthier. The restaurant version has fried pita and caramelized onions. I order it without pita and onions in order to reduce the calorie count and avoid the oil.
First, I started with the simple ingredients in a Fattoush Salad: Romaine Lettuce, Ice Burg Lettuce, Red Cabbage, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and Red Onion.
Then, I cooked organic brown rice and brown lentils separately. I added a sautéed white onion to the lentils, and then combined the lentils with the brown rice.
Then, it's all about building the salad. The lentil/brown rice mixture is served warm in the center of the salad.
Then, add the salad mixture around the lentils, and drizzle with Sumac Lemon Tahini Dressing. I topped with microgreens for added color.
My husband said my version is a "200% keeper." And, now I can order 10 of the other items I love on Pita Jungle's menu and reserve this one for home.
Lentil Fettoush Salad
This hearty salad will leave you full and satisfied. It is a combination of comfort food inside of a salad.
Ingredients
SALAD
- 3 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1/2 head ice burg lettuce , chopped
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 small red onion, sliced thin
- 20 grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 cucumber, chopped in one inch cubes
Brown Rice/Lentil Mixture
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 cups cooked brown lentils
- 1 white onion chopped
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
DRESSING
- 1/2 cup Tahini
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Sumac
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
SALAD
- In a separate bowl, combine salad ingredients
- Toss
- Set aside
LENTIL/BROWN RICE MIXTURE
LENTILS (I made ahead of time)
- Rinse 2 cups of lentils in water in a colander
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil
- Add lentils, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt
- When water boils, cover and reduce heat to simmer
- Cook 20-30 minutes until lentils are tender
BROWN RICE (I made mine ahead of time)
- Rinse one cup of brown rice (yields 2 cups cooked)
- Combine 2 cups water and 1 cup brown rice in a pan
- Add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Stir
- Bring to a boil
- Cover and reduce heat.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes until water is absorbed
- Remove from heat
- Fluff with a fork
COMBINE
- In a skillet, sauté one chopped white onion
- Add lentils and vegetable broth
- Stir ad cook until onion is translucent and liquid has dissipated
- Add warm lentil/onion mixture to brown rice
- Add metal mixture to rice and stir together
DRESSING
- Combine water, lemon juice, tahini, sumac, salt and pepper in a blender.
- TIP: If you add the water and lemon juice first, before the tahini, the tahini will not stick in the bottom of your blender
- Blend until smooth
- Refrigerate to make cold
SERVING
- Place one cup of warm lentil/rice mixture in the center of each plate.
- Add salad mixture around the lentil mixture
- Drizzle with dressing
- Serve
Notes
Save time and buy Pre-Cooked Vacuumed Sealed Lentils from Trader Joes
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Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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