Fatteh — Chickpeas, Yogurt, and Crispy Bread

A layered dish that is pure pleasure: crisp fried pita, warm chickpeas, tangy garlicky yogurt, and a
drizzle of brown butter and pine nuts. Fatteh is eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner across the
Levant. The addition of lamb or chicken transforms it from a snack into a meal.

FASTING LEVEL: Non-Fasting (yogurt, butter, optional lamb)

SERVINGS: 4
TIME: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
For the base:
- 2 large pitas, torn into 4 cm pieces
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt

For the chickpeas:
- 500 g cooked chickpeas (2 cans, drained and rinsed, or 300 g dried cooked until very tender)
- 200 ml chickpea cooking liquid or broth
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Juice of 0.5 lemon
- Salt

For the yogurt:
- 500 g thick Greek yogurt
- 150 g tahini
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons chickpea cooking liquid or water
- Salt

For topping:
- 4 tablespoons butter (ghee is even better)
- 50 g pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika or Aleppo pepper
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Sumac
- Pomegranate arils (optional)

Optional meat layer:
- 300 g ground lamb, browned with salt, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1 teaspoon allspice

METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Toss torn pita with olive oil and salt. Bake on a sheet pan for 8-10 minutes until deeply golden and crisp.
2. Whisk yogurt sauce: combine yogurt, tahini, garlic, lemon, 2 tablespoons chickpea water, and salt. Whisk until smooth and creamy.
3. Warm the chickpeas: heat a small pot with chickpeas, their liquid, garlic, cumin, lemon, and salt. Simmer 5 minutes.
4. If using lamb: cook separately in a skillet with spices until browned.
5. Make the pine nut butter: melt butter in a small pan. Add pine nuts. Cook over medium heat, swirling, until butter is golden brown and pine nuts are toasted, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in paprika off heat.
6. Assemble (in a large shallow bowl, or individual bowls):
Layer 1: crispy pita pieces
Layer 2: (optional) browned lamb
Layer 3: warm chickpeas with some of their liquid
Layer 4: yogurt-tahini sauce, spread generously
Layer 5: pine nut butter, drizzled over
Layer 6: parsley, sumac, pomegranate
7. Serve IMMEDIATELY. Fatteh is meant to be eaten while the bottom is still crisp — dig a spoon deep from the first bite.

NOTES:
- The crisp pita is the soul. It will soften within 10 minutes, so assemble only when ready to eat.
- For a breakfast version, use only the chickpeas, yogurt, and bread — no meat needed.
- Fatteh with meat is celebration food. The lamb version is traditional for Sunday lunches in Syrian Orthodox homes.
- Variations exist with eggplant (fatteh makdous), chicken (fatteh djaj), or stuffed eggplant. All use the same yogurt-bread-butter triad.

NUTRITION (per serving without lamb, approximate):
Calories: 580 | Protein: 26 g | Carbohydrates: 52 g | Fat: 32 g | Fibre: 10 g