 | |
| Type | Salad |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Levant |
| Main ingredients | Pita,mixed greens,vegetables Dressing:olive oil,lemon juice |
Fattoush (Arabic:فتوش; alsofattush,fatush,fattoosh, andfattouche) is aLevantine salad made from toasted or fried pieces ofpita combined withmixed greens and othervegetables, such asradishes,cucumber andtomatoes.[1][2] Fattoush is a common part of meals in communities in theLevant.[3][4]
Fattūsh is derived from theArabicfatt "crush" and the suffix ofTurkic origin-ūsh. Coining words this way was common inLevantine Arabic.[citation needed]
According toOxford English Dictionary, the earliest English use of the wordfattoush was in 1955 byStevens Point Journal.[5]
According to historianNawal Nasrallah, recipes of vegetariantharid reminiscent of fattoush can be found in a 10th-century Arabic cookbook byIbn Sayyar al-Warraq, using dried and crumbled bread, cucumbers, herbs, and olive oil.[6][7]
Late 19th-centuryOrientalistReinhart Dozy describedfettush orfetush (فتّوش) as a dish prepared from stale, dried bread that is soaked in water and then squeezed dry before being mixed with finely chopped cucumbers or onions, mint, purslane, olives, salt, vinegar, and oil. This description appears in materials published by theInternational Congress of Orientalists between 1889 and 1891.[8]
Fattoush belongs to the family of dishes known asfattat (plural offatteh), which usestale flatbread as a base.[1][9] Fattoush includes vegetables and herbs varying by season and taste. The vegetables are cut into relatively large pieces compared totabbouleh which requires ingredients to be finely chopped.Sumac is usually used to give fattoush its sour taste, while some recipes also addpomegranate molasses along with the sumac.[citation needed]
InPalestinian cuisine, fattoush is prepared by crushinggarlic, salt,chili pepper (or anyhot pepper), and freshbasil leaves together in apestle and mortar, then mixing them with a generous amount oflemon juice andtahini, and occasionallyyogurt. Bite-sized pieces of untoastedpita bread are dipped into this mixture to absorb the liquid. Vegetables are added afterward, and the dish is finished witholive oil. A distinctive feature of the Palestinian version is the inclusion ofwhite onions, which are absent in the Lebanese version. InJordan, a similar method is followed, butjameed is used in place of the tahini mixture[citation needed]
Fattoush is a frequent item of discussion aboutcultural appropriation within thepolitics of food in the Arab–Israeli conflict.[10][11][12] Fattoush being labelled as "Israeli" is considered by many to be cultural appropriation.[13][14][15]
In 2025, fattoush ranked 5th in the "100 Best Foods by Category" list published byTaste Atlas in the salads category based on user ratings.[16][17]
