A favorite meal of mine is a Fattoush Salad & Hummus with warm pita bread. It's light and very healthy so you can't go wrong with it. I would often go to a Lebanese restaurant in down town Denver for this meal, sit out on their patio and be very happy. Sadly, it closed. It was the first hummus I had ever tried and of course after trying many other versions, found out it was the best I had tasted. And as for a fattoush salad, it was impossible to find any where else. So, I had to match these two yummy dishes. I grow mint and parsley in my garden in the summer so it makes it the perfect summer meal.

Fattoush Salad

(Lebanese Mixed Salad)

2 ea... Pita bread

1 ea... Cucumber

2 ea... Tomato

1 ea... Small red onion

1 ea... Romaine lettuce head

1 c...... Fresh parsley

½ c..... Fresh mint

¼ c..... Fresh lemon juice

¼ c..... Olive oil

3 ea... Crushed garlic cloves

½ tsp.. Kosher salt

4 Tbs. Sumac

1. Toast pita bread in oven at 400°F until golden and crisp.

2. Chop lettuce into small bite size pieces and place in a bowl.

3. Dice cucumber, tomato, and red onion and add to lettuce.

4. Finely chop parsley and mint and add to lettuce.

5. Make the dressing by adding the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt.

6. When ready to serve break the toasted pita and toss with the dressing and lettuce mixture.

This salad is often eaten without the lettuce in Lebanon because it is very expensive. Also in Lebanon sumac is often used but is hard to find here. I found it in a little local Greek market. I always use pita bread, the market usually will carry, as apposed to pita pockets. Pita chips are always a quick and easy alternative but will a lot of fat and salt not needed.

If you want to make this more of a meal add chopped grilled chicken or fish.

Hummus

2 cans... Garbanzo beans (15½ oz)

½ c......... Liquid from Garbanzo beans

½ c......... Fresh lemon juice

1/3 c....... Tahini

10 ea...... Garlic cloves

½ tsp...... Kosher salt

1. Drain garbanzo beans but save the liquid.

2. Place beans in a food processor with rest of ingredients until creamy.

I like my Hummus very garlicky and lemony. You can always tone it down by cutting back on the garlic. If you want to add a little spice to it you can add some Cayenne pepper or Tabasco. You can garnish it with fresh chopped parsley, which will give it a fresh taste. I always use kosher salt because it will dissolve faster but regular salt can be used in the same amount. I usually use dry garbanzo beans and cook them until they are very mushy. They have a fresher flavor. I like to garnish my hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and small diced tomato. Then it's bring on the warm pita bread cut into wedges.

Try it on a veggie sandwich with sliced cucumber, carrots, spicy sprouts and sliced tomato.

I’ve tried this recipe with Navy beans in place of the garbanzo beans, which gave it an Italian twist. Black beans with limejuice and fresh chopped cilantro sounds interesting.

This is a staple at my house because, as I said it before, it is easy and healthy. There is no added fat but the garbanzo beans and tahini do have some fat. It is a healthy fat that the body needs so don’t get stressed over it.

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!!!