Fattoush

Fattoush is a Levantine chopped salad that makes tasty use of old pita. The bread may simply be left out to stale or it may be toasted before it is broken into pieces and tossed with vegetables and dressing. In this recipe, we brush the rounds with oil and bake them until nicely browned—we think the crunchy pita combined with the different textures of the other ingredients is a large part of the salad’s appeal. Pickled grapes are not a common fattoush ingredient; we tried them in a fattoush at chef Ana Sortun’s Oleana restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and loved their sweet-tart flavor and succulent texture. Both the pita and the grapes can be prepared a day in advance; store the pita in an airtight container. Sumac has earthy, citrusy notes, and pomegranate molasses is tangy and lightly fruity in taste. Both ingredients are optional, but they give the fattoush complexity and a distinct Middle Eastern character.