Fattoush (Toasted Pita Bread Salad)

I don't think words exist to describe how enamored I am with this salad.  I knew I liked fattoush, but I'm coming to realize that I really LOVE fattoush, or at least I really love this fattoush.  Usually I order fattoush when I am ordering falafel or shwarma, but I am going to make it at home from now on because it really is that much better.  Homemade fattoush is so much brighter and fresher, with crazily vibrant flavors.  You have the sourness of the lemons, playing off the brightness of the herbs, the freshness of the cucumbers, the tartness of the ground sumac, the peppery spiciness of the arugula, and the sweetness of the tomatoes.  It's brilliant.  I'm fairly certain that I have never had such a delicious salad before in my life.  Or at least not in the past few months because I can't honestly remember any salads in any real detail from before then.  This salad is perfect on a day like today where somehow it is gloriously sunny and 90 degrees outside.  In April.  I would complain about the evils of global warming screwing up the weather, but I am too excited by this salad.  I couldn't have made a more perfect lunch if I tried.  I love it when that happens.

Recipe after the jump!

Fattoush

Adapted from Street Food: Exploring the World's Most Authentic Tastes

By Tom Kime

INGREDIENTS:

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 English cucumber, cut lengthwise into quarters and then into 1/2-inch thick chunks

2 garlic cloves, finely grated (I used a microplane)

juice of 1 1/2 lemons

1 tbsp ground sumac

4 scallions, greens and whites, thinly sliced

2 cups (packed) baby arugula

1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 cup mint leaves

1/2 cup good quality evoo

2 large whole wheat pitas, cut in half and then broken into chunks and toasted until crispy

s&p

In a large non-reactive mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, s&p, lemon juice, and sumac.  Stir to combine.  Add scallions, arugula, parsley and mint.  Stir to combine.  Drizzle in evoo.  Taste for seasonings.  If necessary, add more s&p or lemon juice.  Add toasted pita chunks.  Stir to combine.

Serve immediately.