FATTEH WITH YOGHURT AND LAMB

FATTEH  WITH  YOGHURT  AND  LAMB:            MIDDLE EAST

INGREDIENTS:        ( serves  4 )

200  g dried chickpeas
2  cloves garlic
1/2  bunch mint
250  g yoghurt
Salt and freshly ground pepper
40  g pine nuts
2  tbs  olive oil
400  g minced  lamb
Ground  cinnamon
Ground  cumin
Cayenne  pepper
2  thin, Arabic flatbreads ( pitta )

METHOD:

• Soak the chickpeas overnight.Cook in salted water for about 40 minutes, or until done.
• Peel and finely chop the garlic. pick the mint leaves from their stalks ( reserve a few leaves to garnish ) and chop finely. Mix with the yoghurt and garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown. Take out of the pan and put the oil into the pan. Fry the mince in the oil,breaking it up to brown right through.
• Season with salt, cinnamon, cumin and cayenne pepper. Bake the flatbreads in the oven, break into pieces and divide between the dished. Add a little of the mint yoghurt, then layers of drained chickpeas and minced lamb.
• Scatter with pine nuts and serve garnished with mint.

TIPS : 'Fatteh' dishes use a layer of toasted or fried pitta bread. This is a Lebanese main breakfast or lunch dish. It can made a number of ways which includes using chicken, rice, ground beef. It is known for containing all the essential vitamins needed to start the day. This dish goes back to early Lebanese history and is widely known around the Middle East.