Recipe
Lebanese Fatteh Blameh Recipe
Posted by : noor24
Preparation time : 50 Min
Cooking time : 1 Hrs 10 Min
Level of difficulty : Medium
Ingredients
6 servings
- For the Lamb
- 3 lbs lamb for stew (small bits still on the bone)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 two to three inch stick of cinnamon
- 5 cloves
- 1/2 of nutmeg (or about 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg if you must)
- 2-3 cups of chicken stock
- pinch of salt
- 1 can of chickpeas
- For the Yogurt Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt, strained
- 2 cloves of garlic, mashed into a paste
- some mint leaves, roughly chopped
- a squeeze of lemon
- Garnish and Bottom Layer:
- 3-4 pita bread, sliced through the middle (so they are thin), cut into triangles and toasted till crispy
- 1/4 cup of toasted pine-nuts
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds (if seasonally available)
- some roughly chopped mint
Preparation
1. Season your lamb with some kosher salt, a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon. Heat up a small bit of olive oil in your pressure cooker. Over medium heat, sear your lamb until brown - about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
2. Add your onions and garlic to the pressure cooker and using the leftover oil, saute briefly, stirring around the meat to make some room for the onions/garlic to cook.
3. Make a bouquet garni, sock, cut it, wrap your spices in it and tie with kitchen twine) with the cinnamon stick, nutmeg half and cloves.
4. After another 30 seconds or so, add your stock. Throw in your bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and follow your pressure cooker directions. Cook in pressure for 30-35 minutes.
5. While that’s cooking, mix your strained yogurt with the garlic paste, chopped mint, squeeze of lemon and lemon zest. Stir and let sit so the flavors meld.
6. Slice your pita and toast in the oven for about 4-5 minutes at 385 degrees till crispy.
7. If you have a pomegranate, slice in half and remove seeds. It’s easier to submerge it in water and take seeds out that way - the little bits of sinew will separate from the seeds more easily. Strain so you just have the seeds.
8. When lamb is finished cooking in the pressure cooker/slowcooker, using tongs, remove lamb only out of the sauce and put in bowl. Allow to cool for a few moments.
9. Meanwhile, turn heat on medium to reduce the sauce just a bit more - about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the drained chickpeas and let simmer for another 3-4 minutes.
10. With two forks (or your fingers!), remove the bones from the lamb meat and shred the lamb meat. It should be super tender and fall off the bone easily.
11. Assemble your dish. Put 4-5 toasted/fried pita triangles on the bottom of your dish. Using a large spoon, spoon some chickpeas with sauce over the crispy pita bread. You want a decent layer of chickpeas. Next, top the chickpeas with some shredded lamb. Finally, add a layer of yogurt and top with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts and chopped mint. Dig in!
