Fatteh is a dish that’s found all around Levantine food cultures. The premise is simple: Bread with something on top (the name is Arabic for something equivalent to “left-over bread”).
As you can imagine, its variations are as many as the imagination is wide.
Perhaps best known is hummus fatteh, where toasted bread is topped with chickpeas (“hummus” in Arabic) and a tahini yoghurt.
Making chicken fatteh
This version is with chicken, but not just any chicken. A whole chicken that’s been poached with a handful of incredible aromatics typical of Levantine cuisines.
Tahini yoghurt is a crucial part of the dish, though the amounts can vary considerably from one fatteh to another. In my research, I found recipes calling from anything from 500 g (generous 1 lbs) to 2 kg (4½ lbs) of yoghurt per chicken! My version remains generous at 1 kg (2¼ lbs), but I know that some prefer to use less. Feel free to reduce or even halve the amount of tahini yoghurt, if that’s your preference.
I’ve also taken the liberty of adding chili butter on top. Not entirely authentic, perhaps – it’s more Turkish than Levantine – but an important part of making this a true flavour bomb.
Chicken fatteh happily takes centre stage and is great for entertaining, but if you feel like making a smaller weekday version, you can use two chicken legs instead of a whole chicken and halve everything else. In either case, a generous fresh salad is wonderful alongside.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 dried chillies
- 4 whole cloves
- 4 whole cardamom pods, crushed
- water
For frying the chicken
- 3 Tbsp olive oil, I use a mild extra virgin
- 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
- salt and pepper
Toasted bread
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, I use a mild extra virgin
- 2 pita breads, or other white (flat)bread, torn into pieces
Pine nut chilli butter
- 6 Tbsp butter
- 40 g pine nuts
- 2 tsp pul biber, Aleppo pepper, or other chilli flakes, to taste
- salt and pepper
Tahini yoghurt
- 1 kg yoghurt
- 100 g tahini
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed into a paste
- salt and pepper
Garnish (optional)
- seeds from 1 pomegranate
- chopped flat-leaf parsley, (Italian parsley), to taste
How I make it
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
- Add the chicken and aromatics to a pot large enough to hold the chicken. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Leave to simmer until the meat easily falls off the bones, 1–1½ hours. Allow to cool slightly. Remove the chicken and shred the meat. Strain the remaining broth.
- Meanwhile, mix the bread with a little olive oil. Spread on the baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden and crispy, 5–10 minutes.
- Heat a heavy-bottomed pot or large pan over medium heat. Fry the onion in 3 Tbsp olive oil, stirring regularly, until soft, but not browned, 10–15 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and fry for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a ladle of the broth and let it cook down. Repeat with 2–3 ladles—the more broth you cook down, the more flavour the chicken will have. Set aside when the broth has reduced but the chicken is still very juicy.
- Make the tahini yoghurt by mixing all the ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toast until they just begin to colour, stirring regularly, 4–5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the pul biber (Aleppo pepper) and some salt and pepper.
- Assemble by placing the toasted bread on a platter. Top with the chicken, half of the tahini yoghurt (or as much as you like) and the chilli butter. Garnish with a handful of pomegranate seeds and flat-leaf parsley. Serve with the remaining tahini yoghurt and additional garnishes on the side.
One Response
Delicious! Easy to make too, no chilli butter for us. Thank you for sharing your tasty recipes, they remind us of our recent visit to Turkey.