Fattoush Salad with Fried Feta

-Serves 2-3
​
​Originally a Lebanese farmer's salad, Fattoush was originally made using leftover scraps of pita bread thrown on seasonal vegetables. My version of Fattoush salad  is slightly different though - sweet crunchy peppers, red onions and cucumbers, generously sprinkled with tart sumac, and with a luxurious topping of crispy-fried feta. And instead of a simple lemon vinaigrette, I have gone for sweet pomegranate molasses as my acid. Enjoy this colorful salad as is or with crispy pita chips for a complete meal.

Ingredients for Fattoush Salad with Fried Feta

For Salad: 
8-10 sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 large red onion, sliced or cubed
1 large cucumber, deseeded and cubed
1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced or cubed
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced or cubed
flat leaf parsley or mint or coriander leaves, small bunch chopped
2 tablespoons Turkish pomegranate molasses (available at Mustafa in the baking isle)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoon sumac (available at Mustafa in the middle-eastern spice isle)
1/2 teaspoon salt

For Fried Feta:
250g good quality Greek feta cheese 
1 egg, lightly beaten 
1/4 cup flour or rice flour 
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs 
1/4 cup sesame seeds 
1/2 cup light olive oil, for frying
4 heaped teaspoons organic honey

Recipe
1. Whisk together pomegranate molasses, olive oil, and salt; set aside. Place all vegetables in a salad bowl. Sprinkle sumac. Pour dressing. Mix well and serve immediately topped with crispy feta (recipe below) with a drizzle of organic honey

Crispy Feta:
1. To prepare fried feta, start by cutting the feta cheese into 1-inch blocks
2. In a bowl lightly beat the egg and set aside. Into another bowl add the flour. In a third bowl, mix together breadcrumbs and sesame seeds.
3. Roll each piece of feta into the flour. Next roll it into the egg and then in sesame seed and breadcrumb mix. Set aside. 
4. Heat about 1/2 cup olive oil into a frying pan, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan and fry the feta for 1-2 minutes on each side until crispy golden-brown. When done, place on some kitchen paper to soak up the extra oil. 
For more delicious recipes, check out our upcoming hands-on cooking classes in Downtown Singapore.
​Click here for more details.