Maftoul Fall Salad with Sumac Dressing

Similar to couscous of Morroco and mughrabieh of Lebanon the Palestinian version is called maftoul. Maftoul is made of bulgur wheat, whole grains that are parboiled, dried in the sun, and then cracked, and hand rolled in durum flour. This process is long and time consuming but it gave the maftoul its name. As the word maftoul in Arabic means "rolled". These practices are common among Palestinian women, and products like this are essential in the Palestinian pantry. These little pearls came in my Palbox all the way from Palestine from a local women cooperative that depends on projects like this as a main source of income. Traditionally maftoul is served as a hearty stew that’s perfumed with cinnamon, cardamom, and other spices, and then layered with chickpeas and succulent chicken that's been simmering in the spice broth. I took all these delicious flavors of the traditional dish and made a beautiful salad with roasted veggies and a bright sumac and lemon dressing that’s perfect for this crispy fall weather.

Ingredients

  • 2 purple onions cut into wedges

  • 2 cups chopped and peeled butternut squash (seeds removed)

  • 2 cups fresh radicchio chopped or arugula

  • 1 yellow squash diced

  • 1 cup diced carrots

  • 1 small sweet potatoe peeled & diced

  • 9 Oz palestinian fair trade maftoul

  • 2 tbls olive oil

  • Salt and pepper

  • 1/4 cup chopped pistachios (reserve a tbls to garnish the top)

Dressing

  • Juice of one lemon

  • 2 tbls of olive oil

  • 1 tsp of sumac

  • Salt to taste

  • 1 garlic cloves finely minced

  • Mix all ingredients in a mason jar to combine

Tools

  • Double boiler

Steps

  1. To roast the vegetables, preheat the oven to 425 F. Add the cut up veggies to a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

  2. Roast for 30- 45 minutes until veggies are caramelized and cooked through.

  3. Cooking the maftoul, For a fluffy delicious maftoul you will need a double boiler, 1 tsp of olive oil, Water or chicken broth, and Aromatics for the water. This step is optional it will just create a nice scented steam.

    • Cinnamon stick

    • 5 peppercorns

    • 1 bay leaf

    • 5 cardamom pods

    • 5 whole allspice

  4. Add water to the bottom pan with the aromatics if using

  5. Brush the bottom and sides of the colander with olive oil. This step will prevent the maftoul from sticking to the colander

  6. Make sure the bottom of the colander does not touch the water

  7. Add the rinsed maftoul to the oiled colander.

  8. Bring the pot to a boil. Cover and let the steam cook the maftoul.

  9. After 8 minutes of cooking, give the maftoul a gentle toss to make sure it’s not clumping together cook for a total of 15-25 minutes until maftoul is fluffy and cooked through. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

  10. To assemble the salad, in a large bowl add the roasted veggies to the cooled maftoul.

  11. Add the dressing, radicchio, pistachios. Toss the salad to combine. Garnish with the reserved pistachios. Serve at room temperature.

    This salad can be stored in the fridge for up to one week. This salad is delicious as a side dish next to roasted chicken or roasted salmon.