Fattah

There are many versions – both meat and vegetarian – of this dish, whose name means “broken bread”. In all cases, it consists of layers of garlicky yoghurt, fried crisps made from khobez or Lebanese bread, and some sort of filling, all topped with pine nuts. Goat’s yoghurt provides the best flavour, but thick Greek-style yoghurt can be substituted if goat’s yoghurt is not available.

Vegetarian fattahs include aubergine and spinach, but you can use any cooked vegetable that tastes good with yoghurt. Meat fattah can be made with minced beef, chicken, lamb shanks and homous (chickpeas), lamb trotters, and lamb tongues. Among the meaty ones, my favourites are minced beef, chicken, and lamb shanks with chickpeas. Fattah with homous is eaten for breakfast in Lebanon, where the morning meal is usually savoury, rather than sweet.