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Author:
Franco Salzillo
Fatteh is just a fancy Arabic word for a comforting, cheap and utterly delicious fast snack. It actually means crumbs, and it’s because one of the most important ingredients in this tasty dish is bits of pita bread.
Fatteh is everything you love in a single bowl. You have some kind of meat, a yogurt sauce, sometimes chickpeas, and the list goes on. There are thousands of versions of the dish since everyone likes theirs differently!
Today we’re making fatteh over a bed of fluffy, long-grained rice, and we’re using a quick chicken stew, a citrusy yogurt sauce, and fresh parsley. Topped with crunchy pine nuts or almonds, this is a quick and easy meal to satisfy your deepest desires.
For this recipe, we’re using a cup of shredded chicken. You can even use leftover rotisserie chicken for a smokier fatteh. We need some chicken broth, too, and I just buy that one — make yours if you wish, of course.
Garlic will liven the dish’s personality, and we’re using it in the chicken and the yogurt sauce, which is only yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and parsley.
Finally, the essential ingredient: warm, slightly toasted pita bread — the flatbread makes sense of the odd ingredient combination, and the result is astounding. Distinct flavors and textures in perfect communion.
Feel free to customize your bowl of fatteh; that’s the best part of the dish; you can imprint it with your favorite food!
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Mince the garlic and dice the onion.
In a skillet over medium flame, add a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the one garlic and onion until aromatic and translucent, respectively.
Add in the chicken and brown while stirring often.
Add the chicken stock and let it reduce to half. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Cut the pita bread into squares or strips and place them on a baking tray. Drizzle the bread with olive oil and brown in the oven for 5-8 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, one minced garlic, the juice of one lemon and parsley.
Heat the cooked rice and serve it in the bowls. Top with the shredded chicken mixture, top with the yogurt sauce and the crispy pita bread.
Garnish with pine nuts or sliced almonds. Enjoy!
