a delicious breakfast fatteh
crispy pita, spiced chickpeas, garlicky yogurt + poached eggs
On the recipe rating scale, a dish that takes pantry staples and turns them into something utterly delicious should receive an automatic 10/10.
For this dish, you don’t even have to go to the grocery store (ok, maybe for some fresh parsley), and it’s one of the most loved across the Middle East. So…an automatic 10/10.
Fatteh is a dish eaten around the Arab world comprising of fried pita bread, chickpeas, yogurt sauce, and toasted nuts. On the whole, it’s a simple dish, but each component gets its own preparation, a perfect illustration of how the details matter in recipes. In this recipe, I’ve added poached eggs for more of a classic breakfast twist (although fatteh is commonly eaten for breakfast even without the eggs). Instead of frying the pita, I baked them in the oven for a bit more lightness; to the chickpeas, I added some earthy spices; and to the nuts, I opted for fried pine nuts, whose frying oil gets a fragrant, golden hue.
My mom ate variations of fatteh growing up in Syria, and even more variations exist in Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, and Yemen. Something I love so much about Middle Eastern food is the regional variations to the same dish — a reminder how we’re all really cousins.
the recipe: breakfast fatteh
prep time: 25 minutes | cook time: 30 minutes
serves: 2-3 people
ingredients
for the pita bread:
3 pita bread pockets
1/2 tsp. salt
oil spray (olive or avocado, preferably)
for the yogurt sauce:
1 cup whole milk yogurt
3 tbsp. tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
for the chickpeas:
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
for the nuts + eggs + toppings:
1/3 cup pine nuts (can swap almond slivers)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2-6 eggs, depending on the amount of people served
for topping: 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
for topping: sumac
directions:
Bake the pita: preheat oven to 350°F. Cut each pita pocket into 1-inch cubes, then place on a baking tray. Spray with cooking oil, sprinkle with salt, and toss until coated. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until pita is golden and crunchy. Set aside.
Make the yogurt sauce: Stir together the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic, and salt until well combined. It should be slightly runny like regular yogurt, not thick like cream cheese. If it’s too thick, add 1-2 tbsp. of water as needed to loosen it up. Set aside.
Make the chickpeas: To a small saucepan, add the chickpeas, water, salt, ground coriander and ground cumin. Cook over medium heat until chickpeas just become soft and start to split from their skins, about 5-8 minutes, then turn off the heat (but keep in the saucepan to stay warm).
From here, I like to pre-assemble my fatteh before the next two steps, which come together quickly. On a large plate, add the baked pita cubes, then layer on top the chickpeas, then the yogurt sauce. Set aside as you finish the final two steps.
Poach the eggs: Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Crack the eggs in a colander over a bowl to catch any leftover egg white (this helps create the perfectly poached eggs). Once the water is simmering, stir to create a whirlpool with a wooden spoon, then carefully drop in the eggs. Allow eggs to cook until the whites are firm, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully remove eggs and place in cold water until ready to serve.
Fry the nuts: In a small skillet over medium-high heat, add the pine nuts and olive oil and fry until fragrant, bubbly, and golden, about 5-8 minutes.
Immediately once the nuts are done toasting in the olive oil, pour on top of the pre-assembled fatteh, over the yogurt sauce. You’ll hear some crackling as the warm oil hits the cool yogurt — a classic characteristic of a good fatteh! Top with the poached eggs, then sprinkle on the finely chopped parsley and sumac. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
xx Brittany