Vegan Fatteh

A simple yet delicious middle eastern meal to satisfy all your tastebuds

For my first ever blog post i thought it would only be suitable to post one of my favourite meals to date. This vegan adaption of a traditional Syrian dish called “fatteh” is unlike any other. My mum first made it for me when i was a vegetarian and i couldn’t get enough. Since transitioning to a plant based diet i knew i couldn’t leave this dish behind.

Firstly it is incredibly easy and quick to make, which is why i make it a lot and secondly, every time i make it it always leaves me feeling happy satisfied.

In this recipe i use a natural soy yoghurt instead of traditionally using greek yoghurt. And honestly, if you were to serve it to a table of non-vegans i highly doubt they would notice a difference. The cumin, garlic, lemon & tahini give the yogurt a mouth watering taste bursting with light yet delicious flavours.

In this specific recipe i have used brown chickpeas which I thought it would be a nice change to the traditional chickpea and surely enough the taste was nutty and creamy creating a beautiful base for this dish.

My favourite part - the baked Lebanese bread. Most restaurants that serve “fatteh” deep fry their bread for this dish however I personally feel more satisfied baking it as it is of course a healthier option and just as tasty!

To top it all off the parsley and pomegranate come together at the end to give a fragrant sweet and sour crunch. I give specific measurements in the recipe but honestly I would rather say go crazy on the parsley and pomegranate because it never seems to bee too much.

If you’re looking to impress friends or family on this home cooked meal or even just for yourself when you are feeling like something quick and fresh to make - this is the perfect dish for you. I hope you enjoy it and I am excited to share more delicious recipes with you.

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Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 500g of natural soy yoghurt (or any plant based yoghurt)

• 2 pieces of Lebanese bread, baked

• 480g of cooked chickpeas.

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tsp of cumin

• 1/2 a lemon juice

• 2 tbsp of tahini

• 1/4 cup of packed parsley, chopped

• 1/4 cup of pomegranate jewels

• Salt to taste

Optional:

• Toasted pine nuts

• Za'atar

• Chilli flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C/ 300F

2. Using a pair of scissors, cut up bits of Lebanese bread and place on a lined baking tray in the oven. Let it cook for around 10 minutes or until crispy and golden.

3. Meanwhile, prepare fatteh ingredients by mincing the garlic, picking the jewels out of the pomegranate and chop/dice the parsley and set aside.

4. Heat a non stick pan with a tbsp of olive oil. Transfer chickpeas to the pan and add 1/2 tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp of cumin, salt and pepper. Remove from heat once chickpeas have slightly browned.

5. To a mixing bowl add the yoghurt, lemon juice, tahini, salt, garlic and cumin and mix ingredients together.

6. Once the bread is baked and the chickpeas are cooked it is time to start preparing your fatteh. Start by adding a small layer of yoghurt mix, top with 1/2 of the chickpeas, add another layer of yoghurt, 1/2 the parsley, 1/2 the pomegranate and baked bread. Finish off with the remaining yoghurt, chickpeas, parsley, pomegranate.Make sure to save a layer of bread for the end as it is nice to have some crunch on the top as the bread tends to loose a bit of its crunch under the yoghurt.

7. Optional: Top with some toasted pine nuts, za'taar and chilli flakes for spice.