Cookies Preferences
Fettet is one of those strange sounding dishes that I’ve warmed to immensely. In its original form it’s layers of fried Arabic bread, yogurt, chickpeas, and toasted nuts. Most often it’s eaten at breakfast, the layers scooped up by hand with more bread. What makes it work so well are the contrasts in temperature: the yogurt is cold, the chickpeas warm, and the toasted nuts scorching hot! Eggplant fettet is a favorite of mine, so I decided to take it a step further with some fresh, gorgeous peaches (the best I’ve ever tasted are Lebanese), and drizzle it all with a preserved lemon vinaigrette for a bit of punch.
1 large eggplant in 1 inch cubes
flour for dusting
vegetable oil for frying
salt and black pepper
6 Persian cucumbers cut into rounds
2 peaches, thinly sliced into wedges
handful basil leaves
handful mint leaves
1 large round Arabic bread, toasted
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups greek yogurt
Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette:
1 preserved lemon rind, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
pinch of chill flakes
First make your vinaigrette by combining everything in a jar
Preheat the oven to 200/400 degrees. Cut or tear the Arabic bread and toss it with olive oil and salt. Place the pieces on a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the bread is crunchy and brown. While it’s cooking you can cut the peaches and cucumbers, pick your herbs, so that when you assemble everything is the right temperature.
Now dust the eggplant cubes in flour that’s been seasoned with salt and black pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and in batches fry the eggplant until they’re a nice deep brown color. Cool on paper towels to remove the oiliness.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan and cook the pine nuts in it until they’re golden brown. Now to assemble everything spread the greek yogurt on the bottom of your serving dish, scatter the peaches, eggplant, cucumbers, and herbs on top along with the toasted bread. Top with the pine nuts and their butter and then drizzle with the preserved lemon vinaigrette. Serve right away!
