Ingredients

• 3 whole wheat pita pocket breads, cut into strips about 3/4 inch wide
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (if you find it is too acidic for your taste, add a little less lemon juice and use red wine or pomegranate vinegar in place)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons powdered or ground Sumac, plus more for sprinkling on individual salads if desired
• 2 heads Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup diced tomatoes (let drain a minute or two if extra juicy)
• 1 cup diced cucumber (same size as tomatoes)

Directions

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Mash together the minced garlic with the salt in a mortar and pestle, or on the cutting board, into a paste. Put garlic-salt paste into a small bowl, and add to it the lemon juice and sumac. Whisk in the olive oil until the dressing has emulsified.

3. Cut whole wheat pita into strips about 3/4 inch wide and arrange on baking sheet. Bake until pita strips are crisp but only barely starting to brown, less than 10 minutes. Once the toasted pita breads are cool enough to handle, crumble in medium-sized pieces.

4. Remove the outer leaves from the romaine lettuce, trim off the stem end, and then wash. Chop lettuce into small pieces. Dry the washed lettuce in a salad spinner. If you don’t have a salad spinner, dry the lettuce leaves with a paper towel before chopping. Put chopped romaine lettuce into salad bowl large enough to toss all the ingredients.

5. Chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers, and add to the lettuce. Add about half of the dressing and toss. Then add crumbled pita chips and toss again with more dressing. Let the salads sit for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend, but also so that the pita chips can absorb some of the dressing. To serve, arrange salad on individual plates and sprinkle with a little more sumac.

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