A glorious muddle of lamb, roasted aubergine, Middle Eastern spices and crisp chickpeas

Last year I was at Breddo’s, an extremely good taqueria in London’s Soho, and found myself ordering the crab nachos. They were superb, and reminded me why deviations from “authentic” recipes are not always a bad thing. El pastor, an exquisite street-food staple of Mexico City, is a rendition of the Lebanese kebab. Nachos now fly off the pass at Wahaca, with zingy avocado and tomato salsas and sobrasada. This Middle Eastern fatteh has a similar vibe, using toasted pitta to scoop up the delicious topping.

Spiced lamb and aubergine fatteh

A glorious muddle of sweet Middle Eastern spices, lamb, roast aubergine and crisp chickpeas. Serve solo or with a late summer salad or grill.

Prep 15 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4-6

2 aubergines, cut into 2cm chunks
6 tbsp olive oil
3 large pitta breads, split open like a book and ripped into large pieces
2 medium red onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp allspice
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp smoked paprika
400g lamb mince
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

For the chickpeas
3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

For the garlic yoghurt
½ garlic clove, crushed
100g Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp olive oil

To serve
1 small handful each mint and parsley leaves, roughly chopped
3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
1 pinch pul biber (Turkish chilli flakes) or paprika, to serve
A scattering of pomegranate seeds (optional)

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper or foil and add the aubergine pieces. Drizzle in two tablespoons of oil, season, toss, spread in an even layer and roast for 25-30 minutes, until golden and dark at the edges.

Meanwhile, spread the pitta pieces on a separate tray, drizzle with two tablespoons of oil and pop in the oven with the aubergine for the final eight to 10 minutes of cooking, until the pitta is crisp and turning golden at the edges. Remove and leave to cool – the pieces do not need to be evenly cooked.

While the aubergine is in the oven, fry the onion in the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium heat, until golden. While it’s cooking, warm the cumin, coriander and allspice briefly in a small pan, then grind to a powder. Stir into the onions, along with the garlic, salt, cinnamon and paprika, and cook for a further three to four minutes to soften the raw flavour of the garlic and spices. Turn up the heat and add the lamb mince, seasoning well as it goes in the pan. Cook, breaking up the mince with a spoon, for seven to 10 minutes, until the lamb is cooked through.

Add the cooked aubergine to the lamb, stir in the pomegranate molasses, season, and cook gently for a few minutes to allow the flavours to mingle.

For the chickpeas, fry the garlic in the oil over a medium heat and, when light golden, remove and discard. Stir in the chickpeas, season and fry for a minute to warm through.

Combine the garlic yoghurt ingredients and season to taste.

When you’re ready to eat, lay out the crisp pitta on a large plate and spoon over the lamb-aubergine mix, followed by the chickpeas, garlic yoghurt, herbs, nuts, chilli and pomegranate seeds, if using. Serve at once.

And for the rest of the week

If you are avoiding wheat, this dish is also delicious with rice of any variety. Use the same mince and spicing to make an eastern pie with a sweet potato top – this is always a very popular supper dish at home. Or try roast carrots and parsnips with the spices for a brilliant meat-free alternative.