Fatteh
A Levantine layered dish — فتة — of crispy baked pita topped with a creamy chickpea, tahini, and yogurt sauce, finished with toasted pine nuts, garlic-crisped in ghee, whole chickpeas, and a dusting of cumin and sweet pepper.
Method
Fatteh is a dish of contrasts — crispy bread, creamy sauce, warm chickpeas, and a rich ghee-toasted topping all in one dish. It comes together quickly and disappears even faster.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Cut the pita bread into bite-sized pieces and spread them on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
Bake until golden and crispy, about 10–15 minutes. Keep an eye on them — they go quickly towards the end.
Make the sauce: blend the cooked chickpeas with tahini until smooth, or use good-quality premade hummus as a shortcut. Stir in the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dried mint, cumin, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust.
Spread the baked bread pieces in an even layer across your serving dish. Pour the chickpea and yogurt sauce over the top to cover.
Make the topping: melt the ghee in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toast, stirring, until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Add the minced garlic to the same ghee and fry briefly until golden and crispy. Remove and set aside.
Finish the dish: scatter the whole chickpeas over the sauce, then the toasted pine nuts and crispy garlic. Add the fresh mint or parsley leaves. Dust generously with cumin and sweet red pepper powder or flakes.
Notes
All ingredient amounts are estimated — this dish is very much adjust-to-taste. For a shortcut, use a good-quality premade hummus in place of blending chickpeas with tahini. The bread should be fully crispy before going into the dish — if it is soft it will turn soggy quickly. Fatteh is best assembled and served immediately.
