Spices, Herbs, Spice ClassesAnd here’s my version of lamb Fettah that we had for dinner last night. It was so yummy with typical Middle Eastern flavours. Lots of spice – AllSpice, Cinnamon, paprika, black pepper and cumin. I also added Barberries and chilli. Loved the yogurt and Tahini sauce. Yum. Here’s my recipe… enjoy

Lamb Fatteh

  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1 cinnamon quill
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra, to drizzle
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tsp ground Allspice
  • 1 long red chilli, de seeded and chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom
  • 400 g minced lamb
  • 1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 2 Tbsp Barberries
  • 2 Lebanese breads
  • 2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
  • ¼ tsp sweet paprika
  • ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Yoghurt Sauce

  • 2 cups of natural Greek style yoghurt
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 large lemon, juiced
  • 2 tsp Tahini
  • Optional: Replace 125ml of water with 125ml of reduced salt chicken stock.

Instructions

Finely chop onion. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic, spices, chilli, cinnamon quill, and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add lamb and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 7 minutes or until browned. Add pomegranate molasses and Barberries and 125 ml water or salt reduced chicken stock, and cook for 2 minutes or until liquid reduces slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

To make yoghurt sauce, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 220 °C. Place the breads on a rack in the oven and bake for 3-4 minutes or until lightly golden and crisp. Don’t burn! Set aside.

Drain chickpeas. Reserve 2 Tbsp chickpeas to serve. Using your hands, break bread into 4 cm pieces and place in a 1.5 L round baking dish. Drizzle with one-third of yoghurt sauce and top with lamb mixture then chickpeas. Repeat layering and finish with the top layer of yoghurt sauce. Bake for 15 minutes at 220oC or until heated through. Scatter over reserved chickpeas, toasted pine nuts, paprika and parsley. Drizzle with extra oil and serve.