Chickpea fatteh with garlicky yogurt
Crunchy toasted pita topped with warm cumin chickpeas, a tangy garlic-tahini yogurt and sizzling paprika butter with toasted pine nuts, a Levantine dish full of contrasts.
- 35 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.39 a serving
- 640 calories
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 4 pita bread, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cans chickpeas, not drained
- 1½ cups plain Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp pine nuts (optional)
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
Each serving has about 640 calories, 30 g protein, 76 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $2.39 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No pita bread? Flour tortillas work.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F. the pita pieces on a with the oil and of salt.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
8 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan halfway, until and .
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: The edges go from golden to burnt quickly, so check at 7 minutes.Meanwhile, warm the chickpeas with their liquid and the cumin in a over medium heat, about 5 minutes, until hot. Mash a few with a fork.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
the yogurt, tahini, garlic, lemon juice and ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl until smooth.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
the butter in a small over medium heat with the pine nuts and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until the nuts are . Take it off the heat and stir in the paprika.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: Stir the paprika in off the heat. On the burner it scorches in seconds.Spread the pita in a wide dish, spoon the chickpeas and a little of their liquid over it, and cover with the yogurt sauce.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Pour the paprika butter and pine nuts over the top, scatter the parsley, and eat right away while the pita still crunches.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
