Hummus Fatteh - Savory Bread Pudding With Pita, Chickpeas & Yogurt

Weekend breakfasts are never complete at my house without a big warm plate of hummus fatteh, or fattet hummus. It's a delicious savory bread pudding made of crunchy fried pita bread, a garlicky yogurt-tahini base, chickpeas, and garnished with sticky-sweet pomegranates, parsley, and pine nuts fried in ghee. Everyone waits for that hummus fatteh to hit the table, and once it does, it's gone in seconds. This is my family's recipe, which I struggled to measure accurately because we usually just eyeball things. It took some tries to get the measurements, but I did it! And you're gonna love how quick and easy this delicious dish is to make.

You'll find that this dish is super versatile. It's most commonly a breakfast dish in Syrian and other Levantine households, but it's very common that you'll see it being served for lunch and dinner as well. Especially during the month of Ramadan. The best thing about it is how simple the ingredients are. It's basically just bread, yogurt, tahini, chickpeas, some spices, and nuts to top. Easy!

Ingredients You'll Need:

• Chickpeas: You'll need cooked chickpeas. I soak, boil, and drain my chickpeas at home, but you can also use canned chickpeas.
• Yogurt: I would avoid greek yogurt for this recipe, as it won't give your fatteh the best texture (you're aiming for a creamy base). But you can use full-fat, half-fat, or lower-fat yogurt.
• Tahini: This is the key to the best fatteh base ever. You'll only be adding a little bit, so it won't be overpowering. But it definitely gives this dish that special something. Here's how you can make your own tahini sesame paste at home.
• Pita Bread: Cut up into little squares and fried to crunchy golden perfection. You can use normal pita bread or wholewheat for a healthier option.
• Garlic: My family likes their fattet hummus extra garlicky, so you can adjust to your liking. But it definitely adds that unique pop of flavor.
• Lemon Juice: Always, always use freshly squeezed lemon juice. The store-bought kind doesn't taste like lemon at all and will completely change the way your food tastes.
• Cumin: Cumin and chickpeas go hand in hand. It's also well-known in Syrian households that cumin helps fight any bloating that chickpea might cause.
• Salt: I like to use sea salt, but you can use any kind of table salt. Add to taste.
• Ghee or Olive Oil: Hummus fatteh with ghee is on another level. You'll use it to fry your pine nuts, then pour it on top of the fatteh while the ghee is still super hot. The sizzle it makes is like music to your ears. You can definitely use olive oil if you don't have ghee on hand, but ghee definitely packs a special kind of flavor.
• Fresh Parsley: You'll need a handful of freshly chopped parsley to garnish.
• Fresh Pomegranates: I know not everyone's a fan of fruit in savory dishes, but the sour-sweet pomegranates are so unique on this fatteh. I used to hate pomegranates as a kid, and I used to only eat them in this dish.
• Pine Nuts: Fried in ghee or olive oil to golden perfection. It adds that extra nutty crunch.

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Tips and Tricks

• Prepare all your ingredients ahead of time. This dish is basically made up of layers of different ingredients. Before assembling your layers, make sure you have your bread fried, the yogurt mixture is done, your chickpeas drained, your toppings ready, and your nuts ready to fry.
• Mix the tahini well before adding it to the yogurt. Natural tahini separates, so you'll find the thick paste at the bottom of the container while the sesame oil floats to the top. Just stir it up with a spoon to make sure it's fully incorporated.
• Assemble right before serving. This isn't a make-ahead kind of dish. You're gonna want to make your fatteh minutes before you're serving it, so the bread stays crunchy and doesn't have too much time to get soggy.
• Fry the nuts right after you assemble your layers. You want the ghee or olive oil to be sizzling while you pour them on top. This is how my family makes it, and everyone always waits for that sizzle.

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Canned vs. Cooked Chickpeas

I definitely recommend boiling your own chickpeas, and you can always make more than you need to store in the freezer for easy future access. It just tastes so much better with home cooked chickpeas, and is definitely much healthier without those extra chemicals and preservatives. If you choose to use canned chickpeas, please rinse and drain them. I find that rinsing them gets rid of that canned food aftertaste.

Is Hummus Fatteh Gluten-Free?

Make this vegetarian dish gluten-free by using gluten-free bread. Check your local bakery or specialty grocery store, or you can make your own gluten-free pita bread.

What to Serve With This Recipe

Here are some of my favorite recipes for ideas on what to serve with your fattet hummus. I like to have it as the main star of the table, so these are some side dishes that compliment it well.

• Lebanese Falafel
• Syrian Shakshuka
• Lebanese Eggplant Dip
• Crispy Deep-Fried Cauliflower
• Lebanese Fatoush Salad
• Ful Medames Toast

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