When you have been partying hard during the festive season and you have literally lost count of the calories, a fresh and healthy salad brunch comes as a life savior.
Fattoush is a Lebanese peasant salad made with fresh vegetables, greens, crispy toasted pita bread and a flavorful sweet and tangy vinaigrette dressing made of lemon juice, sumac powder and /or pomegranate molasses. It is usually served alongside grilled meats.
My version of chicken salad is inspired from this gorgeous Lebanese beauty. I have substituted the pita with broiled brown bread cubes which adds crunch to the salad even though it soaks up the dressing beautifully. This salad makes a complete filling meal substitute and is very tasty besides being nutritious.
Grilled Chicken Salad : Lebanese Fattoush
What you need:
- 6 slices of brown bread croutons∗
- 2 cups grilled chicken cubes ♠
- 1 cup grilled or pan fried paneer cubes ♥
- 2 cups shredded iceberg/romaine lettuce
- 1 large cucumber diced♠
- 1 cup sweet corn kernels steamed/boiled
- 1 cup bell peppers diced and sauteed( any color)
- 1/2 cup pitted olives
- 2 tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1/2 tsp. sumac if available
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- salt to taste
- crushed pepper to taste
- 2-3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 cup olive oil
∗Brown bread croutons:
Cut cubes from the 6 slices. Toss with olive oil, salt,black pepper and garlic powder. Broil them at 180 º for 5 to 10 minutes till crisp and golden.
♠Grilled chicken:
Preheat grill at 170 º. Rub the chicken cubes with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until done, 3 to 4 minutes per side. (Alternatively, broil chicken for about 6 minutes per side.)
♥Paneer cubes/Tofu:
Season paneer (cottage cheese)or tofu cubes with salt, red chilli powder,turmeric powder and lemon juice. Pan fry or grill for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Method:
Put all the salad ingredients together in a big bowl. Make a dressing with all the ingredients in a small bowl.
Toss the salad well with the dressing and serve immediately.
Notes:
- The vegetables and the chicken quantity can be increased or decreased according to your taste.
- Either toss the salad with the entire dressing or with as much quantity you desire.
- Sumac gives an authentic Lebanese flavor to the salad. In case it is not available, you can use pomegranate molasses or powder. Or you can skip altogether. The salad tastes delicious even without it.
Well, when you are talking of parties Fiesta Friday is my essential weekly party place. Hosted by Angie@The Novice Gardener it is the most fun party online.This time it is being co-hosted by the awesome blossom blogger friends Mr.Fitz and Kaila. Join us for unlimited array of yummy foods…
Aromas and Flavors from my Kitchen 
That looks tasty and healthy!!! Would love to have a taste of it
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Thank you sooo much 🙂 Wish I could beam it up to you 🙂
Regards
skd
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Another to your crown of master chef
keep it up
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Thank you so much 😀 (blush blush) for your wonderful compliments 😀
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Another jewl to your crown
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You read my mind, it’s just what I needed. A perfect healthy recipes to combat all the heavy foods I ate this past week!
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See 🙂 Telepathy!!. Why don’t you come over. I will toss it up for you. Thank you so much for stopping by 🙂
Love and big hugs
skd
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Looks delicious. Will try this out when have time. Thanks for sharing!
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You are welcome Chris 🙂 Do try it. And thanks a lot for liking.
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Happy New Year and what a lovely salad!!
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Thank you so much suzanne and wish you the same 🙂
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that looks the business! happy 2015 and FF
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Yup!! Thanks 🙂 Can imagine filling up my plate with your mutton chops and this salad
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agreed!!! good plan batman!
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How wonderful, thanks for bringing this wonderful addition to FF. Happy New Year!
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Thank you so much Loretta ☺ Have a wonderful year ahead and happy FF to you too ☺💕
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I love all of the flavors and textures that you have combined to make this delicious salad!
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Thank you so much dear Julie ☺
Have a wonderful year ahead ☺💕
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I love salads and I do eat quite a few. Thanks for a new recipe to try in the New Year 🙂
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Thanks dear Juju ☺ I decided to toss one up after a sudden attack of guilt after week long ofeating high calorie food ☺. ( How would you like to be addressed auntjuju or juju ? )
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Thanks for asking; some call me Judi, Aunt Juju or Juju. All my nieces and nephews call me Aunt Juju, some bloggers call me that and others like Angie just call me Juju (she asked me too) and then many just call me Judi. Whatever you are comfortable with – I will not be offended by any name 🙂
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That’s so sweet of you 💕
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Oh my, your salad is quite colorful, and I love the flavor combination. I loved learning a little bit about fatuous and it’s use as peasant salad. It reminds me of the idea behind pot-au-feu, but with a salad rather than a soup. I love your addition of the brown bread cubes to add a crunch as well.
Thank you so much for bringing these into the fiesta, and happy 2015!! 😀
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Thank you Kaila ☺ You are an awesome host. Enjoying your party 👍 Happy FF to you too and have a wonderful year ahead 💕
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Awh, thank you! 💕
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A fresh healthy start to the New Year!
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Thank you dear☺ Much needed after all the partying
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parcel it asap 😀 looks wonderful 🙂 Happy 2015
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Sure Andy 👍☺ Would love to do that Happy 2015 to you too 🍝🍜🍹☕👍
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I love croutons in salad:-) refreshing salad
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Thankyou Vidya.Yes.Adding croutonst makes for a complete meal. Don’t have to cook anything else 😉
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I love fatoush. But mever had them with chicken. This would be even tastier than the usual fatoush i have.
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Thanks Sadia😃 It becomes a complete meal with chicken and croutons tossed in. Don’t have to fix anything else😉
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Woooooow
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Thaaaanks 😉
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Thanks for stopping by my blog. And i’ve picked up an idea to use the paneer sitting in my freezer for weeks now! 🙂
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Thats awesome. Thank you Myra for liking the recipe. Do try it . But make sure you serve the salad as soon as you toss it up to retain the crunch. And your blog is very interesting. Had fun looking around.
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I had a chicken fattoush at a restaurant here and enjoyed it — but this looks much better! (Sometimes I use memory tricks, especially for unfamiliar words or names… the only way I could remember this name was “Fat tushy”.. But I remembered it! LOL) Hugs!
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Haha😉Thats an interesting way to remember names. I think I will have to try that with people’s names because I tend to forget names (..thats between the two of us 😉)
This salad is a slight variation to the regular Fattoush. ..but quite crunchy and delicious. Thank you for liking it ☺
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I’m absolutely terrible with peoples’ names. I’m going good if I remember the first letter… There’s an old salesman’s trick that says when you meet someone, say their name 3 times in the conversation and you’ll always remember. That never helped me a bit — and the people thought i was nuts, repeating their name over and over. LOL. Hugs.
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I will try that too.
Thanks a bunch
Hugs and regards 💕
Ana
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Looks yummy!
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Thank you ☺
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