Beef & Eggplant Fatteh

Melt-in-your mouth creamy eggplants, savoury bits of beef and tasty fried chickpeas on a bed of crispy pita chips! THEN slather with a yummy creamy garlic-y yogurt sauce! If you're not a fatteh lover yet, this Beef & Eggplant Fatteh is sure to make you change your mind!

Just in case you don't already know, I'm obsessed with fatteh! I love the flavours and layers of fatteh so much I just had to share another version for you to replicate at home. This fatteh recipe honours the creamy, tangy sauce; the perfectly seasoned middle section, and a crispy crunchy base that defines the tradition of this dish.

There's something so comforting about fatteh

There's something so comforting about fatteh, and this Beef & Eggplant Fatteh is no exception. The perfectly spiced beef, paired with creamy eggplants and crunchy pita chips—it's a far cry from your standard traditional dinner.

Although, between you and me, sometimes the traditional dinner needs to scoot over to make room for fatteh! 😏

What's in the Beef & Eggplant Fatteh?

It helps to think of this fatteh not as one recipe, but a few different ones that come together right at the end. First, you'll get the eggplants sautéed; then, you'll tackle the spiced beef and finally, the yogurt sauce.

For the fatteh, you'll need:

• Eggplant: plus a generous amount of olive oil
• Spiced Beef Mixture: 7-spice or Baharat, pomegranate molasses, garlic, & chickpeas
• Yogurt Tahini Sauce: yogurt, garlic, lemon juice & tahini
• Pita chips: Arabic-styled pita bread cut into small squares and then baked or fried.

How to make the beef & eggplant fatteh:

A fatteh recipe is admittedly a little fussy for a weeknight—eggplants sautéed in olive oil, the spiced beef and chickpea mixture, and the garlic-y yogurt sauce. Also, you'll need to prepare the pita chips if you don't have any on hand.

As I said, it's a little fussy, but, on the other hand, you'll be having an enjoyable family dinner. Also, it's delicious and so worth the extra effort.

Steps to creating a fatteh masterpiece!

1. Crisp the chips! Cut pita bread into 1" squares; fry in oil until golden or drizzle a coat of olive oil and bake in the oven.
2. Sizzle that eggplant. Sauté the eggplant in a generous amount of olive oil, until slightly chard and creamy.
3. Create the beef mixture. A quick job for your knife—chop the beef into small cubes the same size as a chickpea, and toss into a frying pan together with olive oil, chickpeas, 7-spice, garlic, pomegranate molasses, and salt. Adjust flavours until it tastes just right.
4. Whip up the yogurt sauce! Swirl together the garlic, tahini, lemon juice and yogurt. Set aside until you're ready to assemble.
5. Time to assemble! Stack in this order⏤pita chips, beef mixture, eggplants, yogurt, and whatever topping you wish to add.

Beef & Eggplant Fatteh

Sarah

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• Olive oil as needed
• 1 large eggplant cut into 2'' cubes
• 225 g ½ lb Stewing beef, cut into ½'' cubes (about the size of a chickpea)
• 1 cup chickpeas canned or cooked
• 1 tablespoon Baharat or 7-spice
• 2 garlic cloves pressed
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• 1 batch of yogurt sauce
• 4 cups of pita chips

Yogurt sauce: 

• 1 cup plain greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoon tahini
• 1 garlic clove pressed
• 1 lemon juiced
• ½ cup warm water

Instructions

 

• Fry the eggplant. In a large saucepan, coat the bottom of the pan with one inch of olive oil. Heat on medium-high. Cover.
• Occasionally stir the eggplants. Remove the lid and stir the eggplant. You may notice that the eggplant soaks up most of the oil. Don't worry, it'll release a lot of the oil once the pieces become soft, (if your eggplant soaks up too much oil and the pan is very dry. You can add a ¼ cup of water. I do this to reduce the amount of oil I use, but only do this if the pan is really dry).
• Transfer the eggplant. Scoop the eggplant pieces out of the saucepan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Set aside.
• Prepare the yogurt sauce. Meanwhile, the eggplant is frying; it's an excellent time to prepare the yogurt sauce. In a medium-sized bowl, add the yogurt, garlic, lemon, & tahini. Stir.
• Thin out the yogurt sauce. You'll notice that the yogurt mixture is really thick. Add ½ cup of warm water to the yogurt sauce to thin it out. The sauce should be a similar consistency to a ranch dip. Add in ⅛ of a cup at a time to achieve your desired consistency.
• Sauté the beef. Using the same pan that the eggplant was in, add the beef. Stir occasionally until lightly browned.
• Season and finish. Once the beef is browned, add in the spices, garlic and pomegranate molasses. Stir—sauté for 2 minutes. Toss in the chickpeas and continue cooking for 7-10 minutes or until the chickpeas begin to crisp up.
• Assemble. Once all the components are finished, it's time to assemble. Add the pita chips as the base, then the beef mixture, eggplants, and pour the yogurt sauce over everything.
• Serve. Garnish with pomegranates, parsley and toasted pine nuts, if you desire. Serve immediately.
• Enjoy that crunch!

Notes

How to prepare Pita Chips

Baked Method: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cut four small pita bread into 1" squares, place in a bowl. Drizzle the pita bread pieces with olive oil, salt and pepper and give them a toss. Place on baking sheet and toast until golden brown.

Fried Method: Cut four small pita bread into 1" squares, place in a bowl. Heat a frying pan with 2-3 tablespoon of oil. Place one piece of bread into the oil. Once the bread is brown, remove from the oil. Gently add in the pieces of pita bread to the oil. Fry. The bread will cook very quickly, stay close and keep string. Soon has the bread becomes golden, remove from the oil and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Keyword 30 minute recipe, beef and eggplant, fettah, pita chips