Lebanese Chickpea Fatte

This Lebanese dish is often served for Ramadan, but makes for a delicious meal any time of day and is so filling. I made during the time of Ramadan, and am just getting to post now. Serve alongside puddles of plain or Greek yogurt to soak into the pita bread. This reminds me of an Italian panzanella salad with big garlicky and crunchy croutons soaking in the tomato juices, only this is soaking in garlicky butter and yogurt for a flavor explosion in your mouth.

For the pita:

4 pita bread, sliced into bite-sized pieces

4 Tablespoons salted butter

1 garlic clove, minced

For the beans:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon Aleppo chili flakes

For the topping:

handful chopped cilantro or parsley (I prefer cilantro)

1 cup plain or Greek yogurt

optional: toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds

Method:

1. Preheat the oven 400F/200C.

2. Place the butter and 1 minced garlic clove in a small saucepan and heat until the garlic is slightly browned, but not burnt. Set aside.

3. Place the pita on a baking sheet and bake until evenly toasted, but not too dark - approximately 5 minutes.

4. Drizzle the garlic butter over the toasted pita and stir to evenly coat. Arrange on a serving platter.

5. For the chickpeas: Preheat a non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, chickpeas and Aleppo chili flakes. Slightly pan fry to warm up and top the pita with the warmed chickpeas.

6. Top with chopped cilantro.

7. Either serve with plain yogurt on the side or on top of the chickpeas and pita to soak into the pita just a bit. Enjoy.