MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Arab American food blogger and journalist Blanche Shaheen has reported on ABC’s “View from the Bay,” and has hosted the independent film show “Video I” for PBS for 10 years. In 2010, she began hosting her cooking show, sharing decades of treasured Middle Eastern recipes preserved by her talented mother, grandmother, and family. Blanche is the author of the Feast in the Middle East: A Personal Journey of Family and Cuisine, and an Emmy Award Winning NBC Lifestyle Correspondent.
“These recipes are handed down from one generation to the next, recipes that many of today’s culinary schools, chefs, and restaurants don’t know about – however, there were no written measurements,” Blanche says. That’s when she began a mission of cultural preservation, discovery, research, and writing down the cooking methods and exact ingredients of these old recipes. She launched “Feast in the Middle East,” her popular YouTube cooking channel to not only share these recipes with her family, but with the world.
“Since April was officially recognized as Arab American Heritage Month, Arab Americans were flooding social media with their favorite family recipes, from overfilled shawarma wraps and crispy falafel, to artistic hummus plates and buttery baklava. I was excited to be featured on NBC’s ‘California Live’ recently to share one of my own favorite recipes for fattoush salad. I chose fattoush because of the harmonious flavors and textures of sweet and tangy, earthy and crunchy. No wonder this dish has reached popularity worldwide,” she says.
“Fattoush is possibly the first salad in history to use croutons. Arabs are extremely resourceful with leftovers, using toasted bits of day old bread as a foundation for main dishes like fattet hummus, or for luscious salads like fattoush to absorb all of that fruity olive oil. This salad was specifically named for the croutons, as they are an integral part of this dish. The word ‘fattoush’ means ‘bits of something’ in Arabic, in this case, bits of crispy pita bread croutons.”
To make the perfect salad, Blanche suggests starting with a foundation of crispy romaine lettuce. Ideally use fresh tomatoes in season, from meaty romas to sweet cherry tomatoes. Hydrating Persian cucumbers are ideal since they have fewer seeds. Aromatics like fresh parsley, mint, and red onions or scallions offer zest and peppery balance. Bell peppers add a sweet crunch. While traditional fattoush uses the more bitter green bell peppers, you can use red, orange, or yellow peppers for more sweetness and vibrant color.
“Traditional fattoush often contains fried pita croutons, but that can defeat the purpose of a low calorie salad. Oven-baked croutons do not sacrifice flavor, as a smaller amount of fruity olive oil and seasonings can go a long way to create savory flavor and crunch with fewer calories. You can get creative by adding garlic or onion powder, za’atar, or dukkah spice to your croutons to add layers of flavor. To save time, you can use leftover store-bought pita chips.”
