Needed a little break from blogging. Even food bloggers get tired of cooking from time to time 🙂

Thought I’d ease back in with a simple, yet tasty recipe — fatteh — a Lebanese dish of toasted pita chips topped with warm chickpeas, a yogurt-tahini-garlic sauce, toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley. Layer upon layer of flavor. That’s my type of dish.

Like anything else, there are various renditions. My take on it includes
za’ atar-spiced pita and finished with chile oil [because everything is better with chile oil (i.e., a kick of heat) in my book].

Typically, this dish is made with day-old pita that are deep fried in oil until crisp. On a lighter note, I decided to bake the pita instead — simply tossed pita (roughly torn into pieces) in a bit of olive oil and then sprinkled generously with a good amount of za’ atar before they went in the oven.

Fatteh is traditionally eaten for breakfast/brunch but it’s certainly delicious (and satisfying) anytime of day.

This is homemade za’ atar I made a few months back…dried thyme, dried oregano, sumac, sesame seeds and salt.

Fatteh

2 cups dried chickpeas (soaked in water overnight)
Za’ atar pita (recipe below)
Yogurt sauce (recipe below)
Chopped parsley for garnish
* 3-4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts for garnish
**Chile oil

Drain the chickpeas that have been soaking overnight. Rinse and place in a large pot. Cover with water and simmer until tender, about 1 hour (more or less depending on the age of the chickpeas). Keep warm.

To serve: Place the za’ atar pita chips on a large serving dish. Top with the warm chickpeas. Spoon the yogurt on top. Top with toasted pine nuts and parsley. Drizzle with chile oil.

*To toast the pine nuts: Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet (no oil) over medium heat, shaking the pan from time to time, until golden brown. Keep a close eye, this should take just a few minutes. Set aside.

**For the chile oil: Place 2 tablespoons chile flakes (I used a combo of milder Korean (Gochugaru) and spicier Calabrian chile flakes because that’s what I had on hand; although, you can use whatever type you like) and a pinch of sea salt in a heatproof bowl. Add 1/2 cup olive oil and 2 whole garlic cloves to a small pot. Bring to a simmer. Let the oil simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat. Carefully pour the hot oil over the chile flakes and let steep until cool. The oil will turn a vibrant shade of red when cool.

Za’ atar Pita Chips

These can be made ahead of time
3 whole wheat pita (day old is fine)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 tablespoons za’ atar
Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 375F. Tear the pita into roughly 1-inch pieces. Toss with olive oil and za’atar. Season with a sprinkling of salt. Spread the pita out on a sheet pan and bake until crisp, about 12 minutes.

Yogurt Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt (not Greek)
3 tablespoons tahini
3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
Few grinds black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add a little water (about 2 tablespoons) to thin a bit.