PURÉED LENTILS WITH FRIED GARLIC AND PITA CROUTONS FATTAT ‘ADAS

Lentils are perhaps one of the healthiest foods in the world, being low in fat but high in protein higher even than meat in equal portions. This dish beautifully showcases the best of lentils’ qualities. It is the perfect example of a hearty and nourishing yet tasty vegetarian meal. Found in Saudi Arabia, but is also known to a somewhat lesser
extent in all parts of the eastern Arab World, this tasty dish can be described as a pottage or a thick soup. It is an interesting combination of ingredients with a mixture of lentils, tomatoes and toasted pieces of bread. The dish is a near full meal in itself. Although Fattat ‘Adas uses beef broth as its base, rendering it a “quasi-vegetarian” dish, vegetable broth can be substituted to make it a 100-percent pure veggie stew.

SERVES: about 6

PREP TIME: 35 minutes

STANDING TIME: 5 minutes

COOKING TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 cups (1.25 liters) beef broth
• 1 cup (200 g) dried brown or green lentils, rinsed
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Generous pinch of ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 1 large onion, minced
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 head garlic, cloves separated, peeled and crushed
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 to 2 store-bought or homemade Pita Bread, cut into small pieces and lightly toasted (2 pitas will give the fattat a thicker texture)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the broth, lentils, cumin, salt, black pepper, ground red pepper, onion, tomato, half of the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan with a lid. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour, or until the lentils are well-cooked (you should be able to mash them easily with a fork), adding extra water if necessary.
2. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Place the lentil mixture in a food processor and process for a few minutes, or until smooth. Return to the saucepan and reheat.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until it just begins to brown. Set aside.
4. Spread the toasted bread on the bottom of a large serving bowl then spread the processed lentils over the top. Spread the fried garlic with its oil evenly over the top and serve.

NOTE:

• This dish is usually served family style in one dish so that those who do not like bread can scoop from the top and those who do can dip to the bottom.