Lebanese Meat Fatteh Recipe

This dish is called Fatteh and is a Lebanese main breakfast dish. It can made a number of ways which include using chicken, rice, ground beef. It is known for containing all the essential vitamins needed to start the day. This dish goes back to early Lebanese history and is widely known around the Middle East.

Garlic flavored yogurt is poured over boiled chickpeas and topped with fried bits of pita bread and fried pine nuts. It can be served as part of an extensive Lebanese breakfast or as a side dish.

Ingredients

5 cups of fried pita pieces

1 can of chickpeas

250 gr of ground beef

1/3 cup of fried pine nuts

5 cups of unflavored yogurt

3 tbsp of tahini (sesame seed paste)

2 mashed garlic cloves

Salt

Cumin

Cinnamon

Oil to fry

Method

First of all cut the pita breads in small squares, I use a kitchen scissor, its size must be around 3cm on all sides.  You can cut them by hand if its easier.  Deep fry them for few minutes until golden.  Remove and set on kitchen tissue to drink up the oil on them.

You can fry the pine nuts to be set aside as well.  Put around 1tbsp of canola oil, and dry them until golden. Set aside for later use.

Boil a little the chickpeas.  I usually do that for 1-2minutes only.  Remove and drain them.  Pour them in a plate and mix on them gently cumin, the more the better!- Set aside.

Mix the the yogurt with the tahini, garlic, pinch of salt, and set aside as well.

Now lets fry the meat.  Just put around 1-2 tbsp of oil and add salt, and if you want any other spices like pepper, cumin, whatever you want.  Fry until cooked.  Set aside.

Now the assembling part:  In a pirex (rectangular dish) place evenly the pita bread, then sprinkle all chickpeas, then add evenly all around the yogurt sauce, then sprinkle also evenly cinnamon (this gives amazing taste) then add all beef around, finally sprinkle pine nuts.

Serve immediately.

ENJOY!