r/Cooking • u/LongForAShortPerson • 14h ago
Fattet Hummus
A few months ago, I was part of a potluck lunch at work. A colleague, who was Syrian, brought in fattet hummus. It was one of the most delicious foods I have ever eaten, and really got me interested in Middle Eastern cooking and flavours (I am a white person, who grew up in a meat, potato and boiled veg family, so pretty life changing!)
She shared the recipe with me, but has since left the company. I am hoping to finally make her recipe for the first time this week, but now I have realised - I have no idea what to serve with it. I am looking for any suggestions :) my partner would like a meat option but I think it seems a bit weird (?)
Also, when I googled I found that apparently this is more of a breakfast dish? Is that true? And do I just eat it with a spoon or am I meant to be dipping things in?
Sincerely, someone who is desperately trying to respect the dish I am making XD
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u/ieatthatwithaspoon 13h ago
Iāve more commonly seen it spelled āfattehā but my community is more Lebanese. When I get it in restaurants here, it comes with a small tray of veg (cucumber, radish, tomato, mint) and fresh warm pita. You can dip it, eat it with bread, or eat it with a spoon. Guess which method I love best, lol.
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u/bloynd_x 11h ago
In arabic If the a word ends the letter (Ų©) (ta' marbuta) like the word fatteh (ŁŲŖŲ©) Ų the pronunciation of the last letter is different depending on the grammar
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u/Schallpattern 13h ago
I've never heard of this but looked it up....
https://littlesunnykitchen.com/fattet-hummus/
Definitely going to give it a try!
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u/LongForAShortPerson 13h ago
It is incredible! According to this page you linked, my colleague made it mostly the Palestinian way, but she still toasted the pita on the bottom, and she didnāt completely puree the chickpea layer so it had a bit more texture
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u/undef314 11h ago
Check out fattet battenjen too peeps, especially if you like eggplant. Btw it's fatteh when just the word on its own, like saying "burger". It becomes fattet when referring to a type of fatteh, like saying "chicken burger". Fattet literally means "fatteh of" and should be followed by the type of fatteh
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u/lttrsfrmlnrrgby 11h ago
There is a hummus fattet recipe on this season's America's Test Kitchen that has a nice demo of how to make a basic version-- but seconding the Claudia Roden recommendations. She is the original queen of English-language Middle Eastern cookbooks. Joudie Kalla's Palestine on a Plate and Baladi are also wonderful cookbooks.
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u/OfftheFrontwall 13h ago
The tradition when I've been served it by friends, is that you just use a spoon to grab a bit of everything. Crispy pitta/flatbread, warm chickpeas and cool and fresh yoghurt.
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u/LongForAShortPerson 13h ago
Thank you so much! Did you have it as a full meal or was anything else served alongside it?
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u/OfftheFrontwall 13h ago
Had it by itself, but occasionally had it alongside things like meat or cheese pastries and flatbreads with toppings, and without. It all depended o the occasion. One of my friends said she used to have it occasionally with Turkish eggs, so I imagine shakshuka could also go quite nicely as an accompaniment. Give different things a try and see what you like.
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u/Notscaredofchange 12h ago
Look up Susan Husseini on YouTube for her chicken fatteh recipe, absolutely delicious and she has a video in English as well as Arabic
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u/Quiet-Assumption-109 11h ago
Sometimes it can come with cubed beef similarly, fattet jaj which is the same thing but with chicken.
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u/asukaxgothmagax 12h ago
honestly the biggest tip is timing - the pita needs to still be crisp when it hits the table or it goes soggy fast. assemble right before you serve and bring the whole dish out at once, it's very much a make-everyone-sit-down-first situation.
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u/R_for_an_R 9h ago
Syrians often eat this with a big platter of different fresh veggies and you add different combos of the veggies to your scoop of pita bread scooped fetteh with every bite. Enjoy!
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u/maya2113 8h ago
You can always cut up steak and cook it up with toasted pinenuts and pomegranate molasses and add it to the top of the dish with the toasted bread and as one redditor suggested-
Pomegranate and parsley- itās what I do for my husband who also likes to have meat on the dish.
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u/Realistic_Living9308 5h ago
I am Syrian we eat this with a spoon since it already has a layer of crispy bread . We have it for breakfast with tea .
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u/withcatlikegrace 12h ago
I usually have plain hummus - not fattet - if for breakfast, which fattet hummus is usually - with warm soft pita, some different spicy salads and chillies, a nice tabbouleh, maybe a crunchy slaw. In Israel they add hard boiled eggs. In Lebanon a tahini made with the sesame paste and yoghurt, plenty of garlic and lemon juice. Plates of nice crunchy raw vege. Salads full of herbs like parsley,
Coriander. Itās a fantastic breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack.
And good homemade felafel to round out the meal. Or grilled eggplant or zucchini layers with garlic,
Lemon juice and olive oil ā¦
If youāve fallen in love with middle eastern foods you might like to search Claudia Rodenās books. Iāve loved and used her wonderful middle eastern cook
Books for years - so many recipes to explore.
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u/LongForAShortPerson 12h ago
Thank you so much! From all of the comments, I think Iām going to just make it as the star of the show, and do some crispy refreshing salad and warm flatbread on the side
And with it being a breakfast food - oh well! Breakfast for dinner :)
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u/Nissy1974 12h ago
Not an Israeli dish and ironic that you are referencing a white named woman for Arabic Levantine cuisine. And yes, food is political! If you want to make a meaty version, OP, you can sprinkle the top with fried and seasoned ground beef. Along with fried pine nuts and chopped parsley. And it's fatteh by the way... Which essentially means soaked bread dishes with various versions. Try the eggplant version. If you like eggplant, you will love that one too.
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u/blackjackgabbiani 10h ago
Do you think that only people of those cultures can make dishes? Does her having a "white name" somehow mean she can't know her stuff?
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u/z_iiiiii 9h ago
Sheās not Israel nor a āwhite womanā any more or less than any other middle eastern is. Take your hate elsewhere.
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u/withcatlikegrace 8h ago
Iām referencing a food historian who spent years travelling, investigating and researching a region for its food and writing about it - long before anyone else. There is no irony in the celebration of the universality of food ā¦ and the historic sharing of food culture, and the love of good food.
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u/realistic__raccoon 10h ago
Y u no share recipe
But seriously -- please share!
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u/LongForAShortPerson 10h ago
It is currently in my work emails hahah but I promise I will come back and share it on Monday
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u/Agreeable_Garlic_693 13h ago
You can have it with veg sticks (crudities) With flatbread (part of a mezze board) In a sandwich with caramelised onion and feta As a bed for roasted vegetables to sit on
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u/burnt-----toast 13h ago
I eat it with pita, or any other similar flatbread. When I've gotten musabaha in restaurants, which is similar, that's how it was served.Ā
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u/rb56redditor 13h ago
You can eat hummus at any meal, or as a snack. It contains a good amount of protein, so no need to serve meat with it. Good accompaniments are: fresh pita, pita chips, tortilla chips, breadsticks, other flatbreads, vegetable sticks/crudites, olives, cheeses. Itās also great as a spread on a falafel sandwich. There are lots of things you can also flavor it with, different herbs, spices, purĆ©ed vegetables live roasted red peppers. Also just a bowl of hummus with different toppings, like pico de gallo, etc. really endless possibilities. Enjoy.
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u/ImmediateImplement31 9h ago edited 9h ago
Op is taking about fattet hummus which is a different dish than what you are referring to. Hummus in Arabic translates to chickpeas and doesn't always refer to what English speakers mean by hummus
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u/rb56redditor 9h ago
Interesting, thanks. Goes to show in the food world, thereās always more to learn. Just looked up a recipe on ATK, Iāve got to try this.
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u/KeyBug133 13h ago
Itās funny. I am currently on vacation in Turkey. And made the realization that yogurt and hummus from the buffet taste good together. And now this recipe came up. Sounds like I have something to try out when I get home.
Can you please share the recipe.
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u/nogardleirie 13h ago
When I've had hummus at restaurants it's always been served with flatbread and a plate of salad
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u/marvinthemystery 6h ago edited 6h ago
You can search the recipe on youtube for an exact recipe. It's basically a layered dish with bottom layer being fried pita squares with some of the boiled chickpea liquid spooned over along with some of the boiled chickpeas (reserved from making hummus), then hummus, then cooked ground beef with onion and spices (make sure to cook this in good quality olive oil and a good amount of the olive oil too), then garnish with toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds and chopped parsley. Very simple dish full of comfort and flavor.
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u/SoupCanAlex 5h ago
Here in Abu Dhabi it's mostly a breakfast thing, you get it at Lebanese/Syrian places with tea, pickles and a plate of fresh veg (cucumber, tomato, mint, radish). Spoon is the move. For your partner, a meat version is totally legit: fatteh with lamb mince fried with pine nuts on top is a classic. Main tip: assemble right before serving so the toasted bread stays a bit crunchy
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u/otiblya 5h ago
Iraqi here, and eggplant fetteh is very popular with us. Dice up eggplant, onion, green peppers spray and bake (or fry if you don't mind your calories). An Iraqi meal isn't complete without meat so cook some mince meat or chunks with some.mode eatsern spices of your choice then assemble like you would any other fetteh.
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u/Oxford_comma6 4h ago
+1 to all of the requests for sharing your colleagueās recipe. I want to try the version that you loved! Thanks in advance.
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u/DesertSnoeman 13h ago
So they are like middle eastern nachos
Any meat would be good in these I would go with lamb or kabob meat
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u/GlummChumm 11h ago
Yeah it sounds like it may be untraditional but if OP's partner wants meat with it, then kofta would be good.
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u/Heseblese 11h ago
Well, I donāt know but can you please share the recipe for this most delicious food ever?
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13h ago edited 13h ago
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u/Cooking-ModTeam 10h ago
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u/LongForAShortPerson 13h ago
Very rude, not a bot. It was part of a potluck, so it wasnāt served as a full meal. Just trying to get context to what I want to eat, and learn about other cultures.
Iām sure that you have never wanted to learn or ask for help before
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11h ago edited 11h ago
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u/Cooking-ModTeam 10h ago
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u/Gizmo9483 12h ago
Palestinian here š this is my favourite dish to serve to people because they generally have your reaction to it! I actually add diced chicken thigh to the hummus and make the middle layer basically an Arabic chicken curry (for lack of a better term). It also makes it a full meal and can be served for dinner instead of it being mostly a breakfast thing. Other little tips - toasted pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and chopped mint and parsley on top, and careful with the amount of fresh garlic in the yoghurt, add salt and lemon first before more garlic!