‘Economical, Adaptable and Endlessly Forgiving'

New York Times

24-05-2025

Sawsan Daana's recipe for chickpea fatteh, adapted by Reem Kassis, is inspiring. I know that word is tossed around a lot, but there's no other way I can describe my reaction to it. After reading Reem's article for The New York Times and the recipe, not only did I know I had to make it, but I knew I wanted to play with the recipe and make it mine. My brain was already off and running, thinking up ways to work in my favorite ingredients and the contents of my fridge. Inspiration!
How I made my fatteh: I didn't have pita but I did have markouk, so I rumpled up a couple of sheets, drizzled them with olive oil, quickly toasted them in the oven and crunched them into chips. Instead of a chile, I mixed some harissa into the garlic sauce; per Reem's tip, I skipped the hummus and stirred extra tahini into my yogurt sauce. I added cucumbers and parsley because I love them, as well as some lazily chopped roasted cashews because I had those but not pine nuts. (I figured cashews sort of get at that buttery snap that pine nuts are known for.) Oh, and I didn't do the seared beef topping and instead borrowed the roasted eggplant from the eggplant fatteh recipe.
In other words, I immediately used the recipe as a launchpad, and landed myself squarely in a creative, delicious dinner. I'd like to think I understood the assignment: As Reem writes, fatteh is 'an economical, adaptable and endlessly forgiving blueprint, filling without being fussy and impressive without trying too hard, the kind of meal that makes use of what's on hand but still feels like a feast.'
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