Eggplant Fatteh (Eggplant Casserole)

The word fatteh means “to crush or to crumble” in Arabic (yes, I had to Google that because my Arabic isn’t that great). It is a dish of toasted pita bread covered in many ingredients, usually yogurt, chickpeas, oil, and pine nuts. It is very popular in Middle Eastern countries and is eaten as either breakfast or a main meal. This fatteh is an eggplant and ground beef version.

I’m not going to lie, not everyone will like this at first because you are eating warm yogurt, which is something I had to get used to at first. Once you get over this, you won’t be able to get enough! (To see other people trying Middle Eastern foods for the first time, watch this BuzzFeed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBOGKvKuC_g)

Prep time: 10 min, Cook time: 30 min, Portions: 8

Ingredients:

• 500g eggplant
• 300 g ground beef
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2.5 cup yogurt, plain, 2%
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 large whole wheat pita bread, toasted and cut in pieces

Instructions:

1. Poke a few holes in the eggplant with a fork. Bake the eggplant in the oven for 20 minutes or until soft (turn hallway). Once cooled, remove the skin of the eggplant, chop and set aside.
2. In a pan, sauté the beef. When cooked, add tomato the paste and 1/4 cup water. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Peel and crush the garlic. Mix the crushed garlic with the yogurt.
4. In a pan, layer the eggplant, then ground beef, and finally, add the yogurt. 
5. Top with pine nuts and add the toasted pita bread right before eating so it doesn’t soggy.

Enjoy!