This chickpea fattoush salad bowl is a take on the traditional Lebanese salad; The addition of chickpeas makes this a healthy meatless dinner idea.
This nutritious chickpea fattoush bowl was developed in collaboration with farms in the village. All opinions are ours.
Alex and I were born in the 1980’s; We were the 8-year-olds planting trees for Earth Day and worrying about alternative energy sources. But it wasn’t until adulthood that we realized that the food we eat can also affect the earth, both positively and negatively. Today, we’re foodies who wouldn’t normally be caught cooking a dish without seasonal, non-local tomatoes. We support our local farmers and against tasteless tomatoes from the big department stores. However, at the same time: We know we need diversity in food culture to feed our world. As idealistic as it sounds, we’re not going to feed the world with 100% local gardeners. Read on to learn more about eco-friendly growing practices and this Chickpea Fattoush Salad Bowl Recipe (including, what is fattoush?).
Organic tomatoes
It is estimated that we will have by 2050 another 2 billion People in this world and to feed it we need to double the amount of crops we grow. To achieve this, Alex and I believe organizations of all types need to streamline their farming practices and make them greener: from small local farmers to large national corporations.
To celebrate Earth Day this year, we’ve teamed up with Village Farms to create this Chickpea Fattoush Salad recipe using their greenhouse-grown tomatoes. Yes, we prefer native summer tomatoes grown in the ground. At the same time, growing tomatoes in hydroponics (culture in water) in greenhouses allows you to extend the season. And by using sustainable farming practices and avoiding chemicals, Village Farms is a viable option for year-round fresh produce. A few things we noticed about Village Farms’ practices. They use:
- 86% less water compared to the average for tomatoes grown outdoors.
- 97% less area to grow the same amount of tomatoes outdoors.
- Useful insects to control pests and stimulate healthy plant growth instead of harmful chemicals
As a result, these cultivation methods also produce ripe, juicy and tasty (not tasteless and mealy) tomatoes.
How to make this Chickpea Fattoush Salad
To celebrate our planet in a few days (April 22nd), we created this Chickpea Fattoush Salad Bowl. What is Fatouche? Fattoush is a Lebanese salad that is a mix of herbs, cucumber, tomato and crunchy pieces of pita. It is brightened by the flavor of ground sumac, a traditional Lebanese spice. This recipe isn’t a traditional fattoush recipe: it’s a nutritious bowl inspired by the concept of fattoush, and we’ve added spiced chickpeas to make it more filling.
Since sumac is a unique spice, we’ve used lemon zest here to mimic its tangy taste, but if you’d rather be authentic, you can find ground sumac online. We tried it with sumac and lemon zest and enjoyed it both ways. We hope you enjoy the recipe – and would love to hear your thoughts on eco-friendly ways of feeding the world too.
Looking for healthier bowls?
Aside from these Chickpea Fattoush Salad Bowls, here are some of our favorite healthy bowl recipes:
This recipe is…
This Chickpea Fattoush Salad Bowl is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free. For gluten-free bread, use gluten-free flatbread.
The description
This chickpea fattoush salad bowl is a take on the traditional Lebanese salad; The addition of chickpeas makes this a healthy meatless dinner idea.
- 2 pita bread
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 large lemon (¼ cup lemon juice + zest)
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, shared
- ¼ teaspoon Cinammon
- ¼ teaspoon pimento
- 1½ teaspoons maple or honey
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 15 ounces canned chickpeas
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 3 Roman hearts
- 10 ounces Village Farms heavenly tomatoes villagio marzano®
- 1 small english cucumber
- 2 spring onions (green onions)
- 3 at 4 radish
- 1 a handful of fresh mint leaves
- sumac (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush flatbreads on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with a few pinches of kosher salt. Using a pizza cutter, cut each pita into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Allow to cool slightly, then break the wedges into irregular pieces.
- Meanwhile, mince the garlic and then scrape it into a paste with the flat blade of your knife. In a medium bowl, whisk together garlic, ¼ cup lemon juice, ½ tsp kosher salt, cinnamon, allspice, maple, and several black peppercorns. Gradually whisk in ½ cup olive oil, a tablespoon or two at a time, until a creamy emulsion forms.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas, shaking off as much water as possible. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chickpeas, cumin, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and several black peppercorns and sauté 5 minutes, until chickpeas are golden brown and warmed through.
- Chop the Roman hearts. Halve the tomatoes. dice cucumber. Thinly slice the spring onions and radishes; Halve the radishes. Thinly slice the mint leaves. To serve, place the veggies in the bowl and arrange the veggies, chickpeas, and toasted pita bread on top, adding a few pinches of kosher salt to the tomatoes and cucumbers. Drizzle with dressing and garnish with mint and lemon zest (or sumac, if desired).
- Category: main course
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: Lebanese
Keywords: Fattoush Salad, What is Fattoush, Bowl Meal, Healthy Dinner Ideas, Healthy Dinner, Vegetarian Dinner, Vegan Dinner, Vegetarian Vegan Lebanese Recipes
