Fatteh A Savory Reuse Of Pits

 What do you do with leftover bread? You could go sweet and turn it into a lush bread pudding with caramel sauce . Or you could go savory  and turn it into a tasty baked and puffy dinner. Or for the more adventurous  try a chickpea and herb fatteh. This hot and exotic dish is perfect for using up leftover pita bread.

Famed chef and bread lover Yottem Ottolenghi created this tasty recipe for yesterday's New York Times Food section. It's a popular dish throughout the Mideast but it's hard to define, according to Chef Ottolenghi. It is a layering dish using stale plain or whole wheat pita. There are vegetarian versions like his while others contain lamb. Some versions may have tahini and yogurt. One, fattet djaj, has bread, shredded chicken, whole chicken a, layer of yogurt and then topped off with a layer of pine nuts. In Gaza, a think flatbread called saj or makouk dipped in stock which is often loaded with garlic , chilies, and lemon, Freshly cooked rice and toasted nuts top it. It's then finished off with cook chicken or other meats.However ingredients just aren't limited to those. You can add eggplant or tomatoes , broad beans to different pulses like lentils and green peas.

Chef Ottolenghi's fatteh has chickpeas along with the zingy za'atar along with various greens such as chives, parsley and fresh cilantro. Flavoring also comes from garlic and toasted cumin seeds. It's a bit labor intensive with the chickpeas being soaked with baking soda in cold water overnight.Afterwards they're drained and cooked in water with more baking soda. They're then cooked for twenty minutes after which Kosher salt is added. While the chickpeas are cooking, the pita is tossed with olive oil and the za'atar and pepper.This is laid out on a parchment lined baking sheet until golden and crisp. At this point there tahini to be made which is easy and also the chili oil - another easy make. After puree 2/3 chickpeas with lemon and herbs, garlic and cumin. Sieve into a bowl. Add the remaining  chickpeas and then layer everything, from the tahini to the chili oil. It can be served with extra pita and toasted pita on the side. You could add shredded rotisserie chicken to make it heartier.

Fatteh is a great way of using up any leftover pita. It's also a tasty way of cooking chickpeas with za'atar and tahini, Try it for a different spin on bread pudding.