fattet hummus
Fattet hummus, borrowed here from Claudia Roden’s cook book The Med, is a quick and nutrious dish popular throughout Lebanon and Syria.
There are other variations of fattet, but here the focus is on chickpeas, (hence the hummus) Fattet hummus is often served at breakfast or brunch. It requires little cooking (even less if you use tins of chickpeas) and is a quick nutritious meal. Zejd’s zingy pomegranate molasses makes for a delicious touch of acidity to balance the creaminess of the yoghurt. Be warned – supermarket molasses will be much sweeter!
If you’re lucky enough to find Lebanese pine nuts, which have a much creamier taste and texture than the short ones you find in supermarkets, the fattet hummus becomes even more special. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil just before serving. Serve as soon as you’ve added the crunchy bread on top, soggy bread is not what you’re after here.
serves 4-6
ingredients
150g chickpeas, soaked overnight in water with 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda or 2 x 400g of chickpeas, drained.
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
400g natural yoghurt, room temperature
2 tbsp tahini
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
50g pine nuts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
pinch of Aleppo chilli flakes
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt to taste
crispy flat breads lightly toasted to serve
method
- Drain the soaked chickpeas and put in a pan with enough freshwater to cover the chickpeas by about 1cm, and 1/4 tsp of bicarbonate of soda, to help them soften. Bring to the boil, skim the foam then cover and simmer for around 30 minutes until they are soft enough to squash a bit, but not collapsing. Make sure the water doesn’t disappear, adding a little extra if needed. Add a touch of salt.
- Mix the yoghurt with the tahini and the garlic, and a little salt to taste.
- Gently toast the pine nuts in a small frying pan, you don’t want them to burn just colour.
- Drain the chickpeas, and put in a serving dish. While warm, pour over the yoghurt mixture.
- Drizzle Zejd’s extra virgin olive oil and then the pomegranate molasses over the top. Dust with a pinch of Aleppo chilli flakes, if using. Scatter over the pine nuts and parsley. The fattet hummus is best served while warm, with toasted flat breads.