This recipe is our laid-back riff on fattoush, a zingy, crunchy Middle Eastern salad that’s packed with juicy veggies, crispy pita, and a tangy dressing. Fattoush usually features tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and capsicum, with the dressing kicked up with lemony sumac. We’re taking culinary liberties with the avocado and orange (because, why not?), and the pomegranate molasses-cumin dressing that’s the perfect combo of sweet, tangy and earthy. We like it served with barbecued lamb chops or a chicken or lamb roast. 

We’re hardly food stylists – those peeps are clever. But we’ve learned over the years that you can make the simplest fare look like a million bucks by assembling it on a large platter or nice tray and this salad is exactly that kind of a deal. It’s all about toasting some pita bread, serving it next to a rainbow’s-worth of fresh, crunchy salad ingredients, then letting diners help themselves and slosh everything with a Middle Eastern-inspired dressing. Bloody easy.

The most “technical” part of this dish? Dry-roasting the cumin seeds, which are easy to burn so don’t leave them unattended – so long as you shake the pan often and don’t blast the heat, you’re golden. Why bother with the toasting, you ask? Because it dials up the flavour from zero to a eleventy hundred, deepening the cumin’s smoky loveliness. Do not skip this step.

SERVES 4

2 large pita breads
2 heads baby cos, leaves removed
1 bunch watercress or purslane, sprigs picked
3 blood oranges, peeled, all pith removed and sliced
3-4 green tomatoes cut into quarters
2 small avocados, peeled and sliced
½ cup each dill and coriander sprigs
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Dressing
1½ tsp cumin seeds roasted and crushed
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses, or to taste
2 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
125ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Split the pita breads horizontally into 2 thin rounds, then tear each into large pieces. Place in a single layer on a large baking tray, then bake for 5-6 minutes or until crisp. Cool.

For the dressing, place the cumin seeds in a small, heavy-based frying pan, then toast over medium-low heat for 3 minutes or until fragrant, shaking the pan often. Cool, then coarsely crush in a mortar and pestle. Combine the cumin, garlic, pomegranate molasses, and lemon juice in a food processor, then process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil until you have a thick emulsified dressing. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the cos leaves, watercress, oranges, tomatoes, avocados, herbs, and green onions on a platter, then drizzle over the dressing. Serve with the toasted bread to break over.