Tiss'ye, Lebanon

""Spiced Chickpeas with Yogurt and Crunchy Pita I love tiss'ye for many of the same reasons I'm fond of eggplant fatteh: It packs a variety of textures and bold flavors into one simple, comfort-food dish—which also happens to look elegant when served at dinner parties. My mother's friend Bushra often makes tiss'ye without frying or toasting the bread, preferring to let the soft pieces of pita absorb the sauces more fully. I like that version, too, but am partial to the crunch that comes from frying or toasting the pita. I’ve had this preparation more often at Beirut homes and restaurants, but experiment with both versions and see which you like more." From: Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut by Salma Abdelnour"
 
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Ready In:
30mins
Ingredients:
12
Yields:
6 6 as a side dish, 2 or 3 as a main course
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ingredients

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directions

  • In a cooking pot, heat the chickpeas in water (to cover) over medium heat, then lower heat to a simmer.
  • Meanwhile, mash garlic with 1 teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle, then gradually drizzle in the lemon juice and keep mashing until you have a creamy paste. Stir mixture into yogurt, mix in the tahini, and set aside.
  • Tear the pita into roughly 1-inch pieces. Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat, and fry the bread pieces until browned and crisp, then set aside to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Alternatively, toast the pita halves instead of frying, then break the bread into pieces.
  • Drain chickpeas, place them in a bowl, and sprinkle with cumin and salt to taste.
  • A few minutes before you're ready to serve the dish, heat butter over medium heat and sauteé pine nuts until browned, being careful not to blacken them.
  • In a deep-sided serving dish, place one layer of the bread pieces, followed by a layer of the chickpeas, and alternate layers until you run out of ingredients (depending on the size of your dish, you may only have one layer of each). Ladle the yogurt over the top. Sprinkle the pine nuts in their butter over top, and add a pinch of paprika for color (optional). Serve immediately, while bread is crisp.

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Reviews

  1. Fantastic dish! I increased the proportions to go with the amount of chickpeas I cooked up. Everybody enjoyed it. Go ahead & crisp up the pitas because then they'll hold up better with the yogurt. Yummy! Made for NA/ME goes to Lebanon 9/12.
     
  2. I made as written although I reduced the amount of yogurt to 1 3/4 cups as that was plenty! Opted to lightly fry the bread (Recipe #17977) in a small amount of olive oil/butter. The pine nuts were dry roasted in a pan. Lined the edges of a serving platter with baby arugula, too. I just now realized I forgot to add the tahini! Don't prepare the salad until *just* before serving. The bread wilts quickly. Spanish smoked paprika subbed for standard paprika. Went very well with Recipe #181865. Served with steamed local veggies: corn, broccoli, carrots and this for dessert: Recipe #456606
     
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