Na'ama's Fattoush

Arab salad, chopped salad, Israeli salad - whatever you choose to call it, there is no escaping it. Wherever you go in the city, at any time of the day, a Jerusalemite is most likely to have a plate of freshly chopped vegetables — tomato, cucumber and onion, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice -- served next to whatever else they are having. It's a local affliction, quite seriously. Friends visiting us in London always complain of feeling they ate 'unhealthily' because there wasn't a fresh salad served with every meal. Try to get small cucumbers for this as for any other fresh salad. They are worlds apart from the large ones we normally get in most UK supermarkets. You could skip the fermentation stage and use buttermilk instead of the combination of milk and yoghurt.

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Step 1

If using yoghurt and milk, start at least three hours and up to a day in advance by placing both in a bowl.

Step 2

Whisk well and leave in a cool place or in the fridge until bubbles form on the surface. What you get is a kind of home-made buttermilk, but less sour.

Step 3

Tear the bread into bite-size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Add your fermented yoghurt mixture or commercial buttermilk, followed by the rest of the ingredients, mix well and leave for 10 minutes for all the flavours to combine.

Step 4

Spoon the fattoush into serving bowls, drizzle with some olive oil and garnish generously with sumac.