Salmon Fattoush Salad

Happy November friends!

Simply cannot believe the year is almost over. In the blink of an eye, it’ll be Christmas season, then it’ll be 2025!

We’re coming up on 5 years of the turn of the decade, and since I took that first leap of faith and decided to pursue something in the culinary field. Gosh, I had no idea what my life would look like 5 years ago, but I’m so happy made that leap.

I know it’s been a few weeks since I last shared a recipe, but I’ve got 4 recipes already finalized and ready to share for the next couple weeks. They’re all winners and dinners in ~30 minutes. I plan to share them on substack and directly into your inbox, as well as instagram, so be on the lookout.

This week’s recipe is a salad inspired from Harrod’s in London, England. If you guys haven’t been to Harrod’s it is a very large department store and I want to say icon in London. There’s a whole floor marketplace with very tasty prepared food (this salad being one of them!), high end treats (like chocolates, cheeses, gifts for people), and an entire area of baked goods.

I had this salad during a 24 hour layover in London - between airport meals and being on the tail end of a 2 week long vacation, this salad was exactly what my body wanted and was so delicious!

Here’s how you can make it at home.

Ingredient & Prep notes:

• Feel free to substitute salmon with falafel or chicken (cooked separately). 

• You can use storebought pita chips, but the homemade ones are worth the effort! Freeze the remaining pita in an airtight container for the next time you want to eat pita or make this salad.

• I used a vine tomato for this recipe, but you could also use quartered cherry tomatoes.

• If you can’t find cornichons (a type of small pickle), you can use any pickles you like. The pickles add a nice tang to balance out the dish.

• Cut the radish into matchsticks. I usually shave radish with a mandolin, but this was the first time I had them julienned, and I loved this texture in the salad.

• The tahini lime dressing may need to be thinned out depending on how thick your tahini is. Start with 4 tablespoons of water and add a couple more tablespoons at a time until you get the consistency you like (should drip off a spoon!).

• Don’t skip the parsley!! I am not the biggest fan of parsley, but chop it finely and it is very lovely in this salad.

• IF you want to meal prep this salad, I recommend a few things:

  • Use store bought pita chips, or toast the pita chips until they are VERY crispy. You may need to remove some chips so they don’t burn, and continue cooking the rest. This is because some pita pieces may be thicker than others and require more time to cook. If the pita chips aren’t fully crispy (you’ll be able to tell - just try a piece), they can tend to feel hard and chewy once they're cooled. If you eat them immediately, they’re delicious (like a panzanella).

  • Store the lettuce in a bag with a paper towel. Make sure to fully dry the lettuce or it will turn pink.

  • Keep the dressing and pita chips stored separately until you’re right about to eat. Even dressed fattoush for 1 hour will not taste as good as freshly dressed fattoush.

Equipment needed:

• food processor or blender (for the tahini lime dressing)

  • if you don’t have this, you can try to whisk together, but recommend using hot water to help soften the tahini. food processor or blender highly recommended!

• baking tray

Recipe - Salmon Fattoush with Tahini Lime Dressing

Serves 2

Cook time: ~40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces salmon

• 2 small romaine hearts, or 1.5 large hearts

• 1 vine tomato

• 1.5 pita pockets

• 4 bulbs Radish

• 1/4 cup Parsley, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup cornichons, roughly chopped

Tahini lime dressing:

• ¼ cup lime juice (juice of 2 limes)

• 1 clove garlic

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ cup tahini

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 4-6 tablespoons of water depending on how thick your tahini is. Add more as needed. 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Prep the vegetables - chop the romaine, dice the tomato, roughly chop the cornichons, slice the radish into ¼” matchsticks, and chop the parsley. Add all these components to a large mixing bowl.

3. Slice the pita bread into 1” pieces. Tear the layers apart so all the pita are one layer. Add the pita to a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and black pepper. Give everything a mix, then spread out. 

4. Add the salmon to a parchment lined tray (can be the same tray, only the salmon needs parchment). Season the salmon with kosher salt on both sides, then roast the salmon and pita for 10 minutes at 400F. Depending on the thickness of the salmon, it may be ready. The pita should be ready when it’s crispy and golden brown. 

5. As the salmon and pita chips are cooking, make the tahini lime dressing. Combine everything in a small food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and add a few couple tablespoons of water at a time if it needs to be thinned out. Taste, add more salt as needed, and pour into an airtight container. 

6. Assemble the salad by adding the toasted pita chips to the salad. Add ¼ cup of the dressing and mix everything together. Taste, add more dressing as desired, then portion the salad into 2 large bowls and top with flaked salmon. Serve immediately.