Chickpea Fatteh

Ingredients

• 4 pita bread, torn into rough pieces
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 480 g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 dl water
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 400 g plain yogurt
• 3 tbsp tahini
• 3 garlic, crushed to a paste
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 40 g butter
• 40 g pine nuts
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Method

1. 1.

   Crisp the pita — Heat the oven to 200°C. Toss the torn pita with the olive oil and a pinch of the salt, spread it over a tray and bake for 8 to 9 minutes, until the pieces are dry, curled and snap like a cracker.

2. 2.

   Warm the chickpeas — Warm the chickpeas in the water with the cumin and the rest of the salt over low heat for 10 minutes, until they are steaming and soft enough to squash against the side of the pan. Mash a spoonful into the liquid to thicken it slightly and keep them soupy, not drained.

3. 3.

   Whisk the yogurt sauce — Whisk the yogurt, tahini, garlic and lemon juice into a loose, pourable cream, slackening it with a spoonful of the chickpea liquid if it stiffens. Keep it off the heat entirely — warmed yogurt splits and the sauce goes grainy.

4. 4.

   Toast the pine nuts in butter — Melt the butter in a small pan and fry the pine nuts, swirling constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes until they are the colour of pale straw and the butter smells nutty. Pull the pan off the heat the moment they colour — they carry on browning in the hot butter.

5. 5.

   Layer the bowl — Build the dish in a wide, shallow bowl: the crisp pita first, then the hot chickpeas with a ladle of their liquid poured over so the bread starts to soften underneath, then the yogurt spooned across in a thick layer that still lets a few crisp edges show.

6. 6.

   Pour over the brown butter — Pour the pine nuts and their browned butter over the top, dust with paprika, scatter the parsley and take it to the table at once, while the layers are still hot, cold and crisp all in the same spoonful.