Here’s a healthy, tasty and endlessly configurable weeknight meal that has the added advantage of being a great way to use up leftover pita or lavash bread.
Fatteh (فتة دجاج) — also know as fattet, fattah or fette — describes a simple, layered dish popular throughout the Middle East. If you’re familiar with Mexican or Southwestern cuisine, it shares some similarity with chilaquiles or nachos! The bottom is a layer of toasted or fried pita chips, spread liberally with a seasoned yogurt sauce, and topped with shredded meat, vegetables or chickpeas and a variety of garnishes.
This recipe is for a Syrian version using shredded chicken. Feel free to mix it up using whatever you have on hand.
Fatteh Djaj
Course: PoultryCuisine: SyriaFatteh is a healthy, tasty and endlessly configurable weeknight meal with the added advantage of being a great way to use up leftover pita bread.
Ingredients
- For the shredded chicken
Chicken breasts or thighs, boneless, skinless — 1 1/2 pounds
Water — to cover
Onion, roughly chopped — 1
Salt — 1 teaspoon
Ground ginger (optional) — 1 teaspoon
Bay leaves (optional) — 1 or 2
Whole cloves (optional) — 3 or 4
Cardamom pods (optional) — 3 or 4
- For the bread base
Pita or lavash — 2 or 3 pieces
Olive oil — 1/4 cup
- For the yogurt sauce
Greek-style yogurt — 2 cups
Lemon juice (optional) — 1/4 cup
Tahina — 2 tablespoons
Garlic, minced — 2 cloves
Salt — 1 teasopoon
- For the garnish
Toasted nuts (see notes and variations — about 1/3 cup
Parsley, chopped — 1/2 bunch
Pomegranate arils (optional) — about 1/3 cup
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Add the chicken pieces to a large saucepan and add water to cover. Drop in the onion, salt and optional bay, ginger, cloves and cardomom. Bring to a boil over medium-high flame, and then reduce to heat medium low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- While the chicken is simmering, cut or tear the pita or lavash into bite-sized pieces. You should have about 2 or 3 cups. Toss the bread with the olive oil and spread in a single layer on a sheet pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake, stirring once or twice, for about 10 minutes, or until the bread is lightly toasted. Remove and set aside to cool.
- Add the yogurt sauce ingredients to a bowl, stir until smooth and adjust seasoning to your taste. Prepare any garnishes you want to use.
- When the chicken has finished cooking, remove the chicken pieces to a cutting board to cool, reserving the broth. Once the pieces are cool enough to handle, shred them into smaller pieces with your hands. (If you like, you can mix some extra seasoning into the chicken at this step to make it even tastier. Think paprika, ground cumin, baharat spices, olive oil, salt and pepper.)
- Spread the toasted bread into the bottom of a serving or casserole dish. Splash and toss the bread with about 1 cup of the reserved broth, or enough to moisten without getting the bread soggy. Dollop the yogurt sauce over the bread, and then spread it out to cover all the bread in an even layer. Spread the shredded chicken evenly over the yogurt. and then sprinkle your chosen garnishes evenly or in decorative patterns over the chicken. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Fatteh Notes and Variations
- Bread: Instead of toasting the bread in the oven, you can also fry it in about an inch of oil on the stovetop over medium-high heat until just crispy. Use good olive oil for added flavor.
- Meats: Chicken is the most popular protein in fatteh, but you can also try cooked and seasoned ground beef or lamb.
- Vegetarian fatteh: Chickpeas are a common addition to fatteh, both vegetarian and otherwise. You can also add layers of vegetables like roasted eggplant sauteed cabbage or sauteed mushrooms. Season as you like.
- Add an extra layer: If you have some leftover rice or bulgur, season it to your taste and then reheat a little in the microwave just before assembling the fatteh. Then spread it over the yogurt layer or mix it in with the shredded chicken.
- Garnish: Toast you chosen nuts in a skillet with a couple tablespoons of ghee or olive oil for added flavor. Pine nuts and sliced almonds are good options. Other garnish options include a good sprinkle of smoked paprika, chopped cilantro, sumac, toasted cumin seed, chopped scallions.
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