That Translator Can Cook: Fattoush

Chopped lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers are tossed with a light and tangy dressing and topped with crunchy pita chips.

Image belongs to Manal

 I absolutely love fattoush: it’s one of my favorite salads of all time. I make for myself a lot, but I don’t always put my best effort when do, which is why I prefer fattoush from restaurants. Maybe now that I have pomegranate molasses and I’ve vowed to put more time into it, I can try again, especially because I can’t go to any restaurants right now.



Fattoush is a Levantine (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine) specialty that is very light and healthy; scarf down platefuls of it at a time.

Here are the health benefits of its ingredients:

• Lettuce: is rich in vitamins (i.e. A, K); may fight inflammation and cancer; may help with weight loss; may promote brain, vision, bone, and digestive health; may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes; and may help treat insomnia.

• Cucumbers: contain many nutrients and antioxidants; promote hydration; may aid in weight loss; may lower blood sugar; and may support regular bowel movements.

• Tomatoes: are rich in vitamins and minerals, improve skin and heart health, and may help prevent cancer.

• Onions: are packed with nutrients and antioxidants, may benefit heart health, contain cancer-fighting compounds, help control blood sugar, may boost bone density, have antibacterial properties, and may boost digestive health.

• Olive Oil: is rich in healthy monosaturated fats; contains large amounts of antioxidants, which have cancer-fighting properties; has strong anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties; may help prevent strokes; protective against heart disease; isn’t associated with weight gain and obesity; may fight Alzheimer’s disease; may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes; and can help treat rheumatoid arthritis.

• Lemon Juice: supports heart health, helps control weight, prevents kidney stones, protects against anemia, reduces cancer risk, and improves digestive health.

• Pomegranates: are loaded with important nutrients-especially punicalagins (potent antioxidants); have impressive anti-inflammatory effects; may help fight prostate cancer and possibly breast cancer; may lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease; may help treat erectile dysfunction; may help fight arthritis (and joint pain) and bacterial/fungal infections; and may improve memory and exercise performance.

• Sumac: has impressive anti-inflammatory effects; is packed with antioxidants; may help prevent cancer, signs of aging, and heart disease; and can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in those with type 2 diabetes

I can’t eat store-bought pita chips because of my allergies, so I buy really thin pita bread from an international market and make my own pita chips, which is healthier than eating processed pita chips. I cut the pita bread into small pieces; coat them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and sumac; and then bake them in the oven. Also, just a tip, don’t forget the pomegranate molasses; it makes everything taste better.

Here is how to make this tasty and healthy salad (recipe and picture belong to Manal Ali)!

For serving:

• 1 cup of pomegranate seeds

• Pita bread, sliced into squares and fried

Instructions

Mix the vegetables and toss with the sumac. Next, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, minced garlic, and salt; then pour it over the fattoush and serve the fattoush with pomegranate seeds and pita chips. Bon appetit!

Ingredients

• 1 head of lettuce

• 2 tomatoes, diced

• 2 cucumbers, diced

• 2 stalks of green onions, minced

• 2 red radishes, petite diced

• 1 small red onion, minced

• 1 cup of parsley, minced

• ½ cup of mint, minced

• 1 teaspoon of garlic

• ½ cup of lemon juice

• ¼ cup of olive oil

• ¼ cup of pomegranate molasses

• 1 tablespoon of sumac

• Salt

Translators’ Discussion

1. I translated “1 head of lettuce” from “1 خسة” because it specified that there should be one, but what exactly that one thing is supposed to be was a little unclear. How would you have translated this?

2. I had difficulty with بصلة يابسة because يابس means dried, but that doesn’t make sense in this salad recipe. I’ve watched cooking videos in Arabic that use بصلة يابسة to mean red onions, but I’ve also seen recipes like ملوخية يابسة (molokhia), so I’m sure there’s another meaning to it. I’ve also seen that يابسة could refer to land/earth or Ibiza. Not sure if that fits this context either. Can any Arabic speakers help me out with this one?