Summer Inspiration #3 | The Fattoush Salad by Gotan
Last week we had the pleasure of hosting a special evening tasting menu at the Studio with our neighboring restaurant, Gotan.
Here’s a souvenir of our summer favorite on their menu — the Fattoush salad.
It’s light, refreshing and succulent. It also happens to be a quintessential Gotan dish, paying homage to both Israeli and Greek roots of co-Founders, Arnon Magal and Nicholas Kontos.
Arnon explains: When Israelis and Greeks imagine a salad, the main ingredients are always cucumbers** and tomatoes. After that, there are many versions of Fattoush. Some like it finely chopped while others prefer lots of herbs like parsley and mint. Some add lemon or vinegar. The salad is often served with fresh bread or pita — great for savoring any salad juices left in the bowl.
Fattoush is to Israelis what hamburgers are to Americans — they are quite religious about it and always too opinionated. Perhaps it’s because the Fattoush is literally a once- or twice-a-day dish. It’s enjoyed as both a light breakfast and dinner, harkening back to when lunch was the main meal of the day when families got together.
**When purchasing cucumber, Arnon says to look out for a variety of mini-cucumber, sometimes called Persian or Japanese. It’s been only recently that you can get a high quality cucumber in New York, but now that smaller, more flavorful type exists, Arnon asks to please do ourselves a favor and never again buy the long seedy flavorless kind!
To transform your salad bowl into festive appetizer portions:
- Cut a cucumber into quarter-inch slices. (Keep the cucumber’s dark green outer skin.)
- Lay the slices flat on a serving tray and top each slice with a spoonful of your salad mixture. The cucumber base serve as an edible plate for a bite-size version of the salad.
- Drizzle some more olive oil and garnish with extra herbs of your choosing.
Say an AQUA hello & taste Gotan’s take of the Fattoush salad at
GOTAN | 130 Franklin Street
(between West Broadway & Varick)
New York, NY 10013
