Syria: fatteh [vegan]

Situated on the eastern shores of the mediterranean sea to the south of Turkey and west of Iraq, Syria lies in the middle of the Levant and the country’s cooking is a great example of this regional cuisine ​[1]–[3]​.

While lamb and dairy (esp. yogurt and cheese) are common, vegetables and legumes are abundant in the Syrian kitchen ​[2]–[5]​. Eggplant is very common as are other vegetables like zucchini, onion, tomato, bell pepper, and cauliflower. Spices include garlic, parsley, cumin, coriander while sesame seeds (including tahini), and lemons offer additional flavour. Little delicacies like almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, pomegranate seeds, and olives are common additions to any meal. Grains like rice and bulgur along with multiple flatbreads are often eaten alongside meals and legumes like chickpeas, fava beans and lentils are included in lots of dishes.

The Syrian kitchen shares many famous dishes with its Levantine neighbors and Egypt, dishes like fattoush (a salad with toasted pita bread), falafel, hummus, baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant dip), and tabouleh (salad made with bulgur and lots of parsley) ​[2], [4], [5]​. Other noteworthy dishes include kebab, dolma (stuffed wine leaves), and ful (or ful medames – stewed fava beans with lemon, garlic and olive oil) ​[6]​.

The national dish is kibbeh which comes in a large variety, many meatbased but many vegan as well ​[4], [5], [7], [8]​. Kibbeh are little rolled up elongated ‘meatballs’ of bulgur and lentils (or minced meat), sometimes served raw, sometimes fried or baked. Sometimes stuffed with things like pistachios or fried onions and sometimes solid.

Desserts include baklava (layers of filo dough with nuts, syrup, and maybe some rosewater), halva (sugar infused, solidifed tahini or flour, often decorated with e.g. pistachios ), and rice pudding.

Fatteh

Eaten throughout the Levant, often in the morning, Fatteh is a dish where toasted flatbread is torn up and covered with something (fatteh literally means crumbs) ​[5], [9]​. This something is very often a rich youghurt sauce and warm chickpeas but some varieties include/substitute with roasted eggplant, hummus or meat.

Here, I have chosen to make a fairly standard version of this delectable treat where toasted pita chips are covered with warm chickpeas and a garlicy yogurt and tahini sauce, basing my version on a few food blogs ​[10]–[12]​.

Conclusion

While fatteh is a very simple dish to make, it is super rich and crave-inducing, a perfect addition to any Middle Eastern spread. While chickpeas are always tasty, the real star of the dish is the yogurt-tahini sauce. Scoop up as much as you can with your crunchy chips before they get too soggy.

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Fatteh

Toasted pita chips covered in a creamy yoghurt-tahini sauce, this delectable snack from Syria is a sure hit in any middle Eastern spread.

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine levant, Middle Eastern, Syria

Keyword pita, tahini, yogurt

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Author Henrik Persson | veganphysicist.com

Ingredients

• 3 pita breads Syrian or Lebanese style
• 1-3 tbsp olive oil
• 500 mL cooked chickpeas
• 2 tbsp pine nuts

Sauce

• 250 mL plantbased yoghurt
• 3 tbsp tahini
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ lemon, juice from
• ½ tsp cumin
• pinch salt

Instructions

• Cut the pita into strips, ~3 x 8 cm.
• Place the pita strips on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat.
• Toast in the oven at 180°C (~350°F), 5-10 min. Flip once or twice during toasting.
• Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan.
• Heat the chickpeas in boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain.
• Whisk together yogurt, tahini, cumin, lemon juice, salt and pressed garlic.

Assembly

• Spread the pita chips on a serving dish or plate in a single layer.
• Cover in the heated chickpeas.
• Drizzle with the yogurt sauce.
• Sprinkle with pine nuts.
• Optional: decorate with some olive oil, paprika, and parsley.
• Serve immediately.