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 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 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. First, 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 it with micro greens 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 Fattoush Salad
Ingredients
SALAD
- 3 heads Romaine lettuce chopped
- ½ 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
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
DRESSING
- ½ cup Tahini
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Sumac
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
SALAD
- In a separate bowl, combine the salad ingredients
- Toss
- Set aside
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, and stir in ½ teaspoon salt.
- When water boils, cover the pot 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 ½ teaspoon salt to the brown rice and water.
- Stir.
- Bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot and reduce heat to simmer.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes until water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and keep covered for 10 minutes.
- Remove coevr and fluff with a fork.
COMBINE
- In a skillet, sauté one chopped white onion.
- Add lentils and vegetable broth.
- Stir and cook until onion is translucent and liquid has dissipated.
- Add warm lentil/onion mixture to the brown rice.
- Add lentil mixture to the brown 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 chill.
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 with warm pita bread.
Notes
- Save time and buy Pre-Cooked Vacuumed Sealed Lentils from Trader Joes
Nutrition
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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