FATTEH
Fatteh is a Lebanese dish consisting mainly of toasted pita bread and yogurt. Apart from these two ingredients, Fatteh is a chameleon taking on so many formulae that no one really knows its true form. There’s one with chicken, another with eggplant, meat as well, some with tomato sauce, and others without and so on.
Before sitting down to write this introduction, I asked four of my Lebanese colleagues what their version of Fatteh was, and they replied with 4 different recipes.
In line with my usual nature, I prefer things in their simplest form. My Fatteh includes chickpeas, pita bread, yogurt (without tahini), garlic-tomato sauce and toasted pine seeds.
TOASTED PITA BREAD
The chickpeas are warm, creamy and nutty; they’re covered with fresh out-of-the-oven crunchy pita bread. The yogurt is cold and tangy, and the combination of the warm garlic infused tomato sauce is nauseatingly good. And to finish, a sprinkle of pine nuts and a pinch of dried mint for more flavor.
When is Fatteh best? Anytime of day, but especially for a weekend brunch.
DETAILS
Brunch recipe with a prep time of 30 minutes and an assembly time of 5 minutes. Good for 4.
INGREDIENTS
3 jars of whole chickpeas in brine (click for ingredient)
2 bags of small Arabic pita bread (click for ingredient)
300 grams of tomato paste (click for ingredient)
5 cloves of garlic, ponded
1 teaspoon of butter
1 teaspoon of salt
300 grams of water
700 grams (2 medium tubs) of fresh Arabic full fat yogurt (click for ingredient)
100 grams of pine seeds
Pinches of dried mint (click for ingredient)
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 120 degrees Celsius.
Wash and strain the chickpeas.
Pop each of the chickpeas out of their translucent skin. (skip if you don’t have time)
Place the chickpeas in a deep pot with 200 grams of water and bring to a boil.
Place the pita breads on a flat baking sheet and slide into the oven to crisp up, around 10 minutes. Once crispy, take the baking sheet out of the oven and set aside. Turn off your oven.
Place a pan on the stovetop and add the butter, once melted, add the garlic and salt. Keep stirring until the garlic is cooked and before it browns, add the tomato sauce and stir until combined. Add 100 grams of water for a smoother consistency. Cook for 5 minutes and remove from the heat.
Place a pan on the stovetop and add the pine seeds. Toast for 7 minutes until the aroma and oils are release.
Strain the heated chickpeas and place in the bottom of a large serving dish.
Break the crispy pita bread into bite sized chips with your hands and layer over the chickpeas. Spoon in the cold yogurt over the pita bread. Next layer the garlic-tomato sauce, add the pine seeds and sprinkle the dried mint to finish.
Once layered serve immediately before the pita bread wilts.
Sahtein!
Photography, Food Styling, Prop Styling by: TALA SOUBRA
I read and reply to all comments. So please do share your thoughts about the recipe.
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