Do I have to use pita chips?

You can just use fresh, toasted pita bread! Chop them into small triangles and lay them out on the plate, like the chips in the photos above. Allow 1 large pita bread per person.

Is there any other meat I can use?

You could use another ground meat - lamb would be gorgeous with these flavours - or use a combination of beef and lamb. You could also use ground chicken or turkey or a vegetarian or plant-based mince alternative.

Can I change the toppings?

Of course! Switch the mint for whatever you have - coriander, flat-leaf parsley or basil would be great. You could skip the cucumbers and pomegranate seeds and just load it up with herbs and sauce.

Sticky Beef Fatteh (Middle Eastern Style Nachos)

Description

Switch up your regular nachos with this DELICIOUS and colourful sticky beef fatteh (or what I call Middle Eastern style nachos!) Minced beef is cooked down into a sticky, spiced sauce then loaded on top of crispy baked pita chips, quick pickled cucumber, lots of green tahini sauce, pomegranate seeds and herbs. It’s fresh, delicious and utterly addictive.

Don’t be put off by the seemingly long ingredient list here – a lot of it is spices and I’ve listed alternatives in the notes if there are things you can’t find.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the sticky beef –

1lb/500g ground beef mince
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

For the green tahini sauce –

1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water

Quick pickled cucumber –

1 cucumber
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

To serve –

2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon dukkah (try making my easy dukkah recipe)
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
Pita chips (try making your own baked pita chips)

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Instructions

Make the green tahini sauce. Get the ½ cup of tahini, ½ cup of chopped parsley leaves, 3 garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt into the bowl of your food processor or blender. Blitz until a thick, green paste forms, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl, then with the motor running, slowly pour in the 1/3 cup of water until the consistency starts to change. It’ll turn into a thick, luscious sauce with the consistency of double cream. Set aside.
Make the quick pickled cucumber. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, then use a small teaspoon to scoop out the seeds down the middle. Cucumber is very watery and most of that water is in the seeds, so by de-seeding it, you’re lessening the likelihood of a watery pickled cucumber. Chop the cucumber into small cubes. I like to do this by slicing the cucumber in half, and then cutting each half into long, thin strips. Then you can cut those strips into little cubes easily. Add the cucumber to a small bowl then add the tablespoon of rice vinegar and teaspoon of salt. Give it a good mix with a spoon then set it aside.
Make the sticky beef. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over low heat, then add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, smoked paprika, chilli, sumac and salt. Cook the spices, stirring, for 1 minute just until they start to smell lovely and fragrant. At this point, add the crushed garlic and then the mince. You want the mince to brown and go a little crispy, so try to break it up with your wooden spoon or spatula, stir it through the garlic and spices and then leave it for 3 minutes without touching it. This is going to create lovely crispy bits on the beef. After this time, stir the beef, turning it over and continuing to cook it. Add the 2 tablespoons of sticky, tart pomegranate molasses and stir it through the mince. At this stage, the mince should be looking brown and glossy. Keep cooking it for 3 more minutes, then take the pan off the heat and get ready to assemble.
Assemble the nachos. I like serving this as one big sharing plate where people can help themselves – but you can make individual portions if you prefer! Pile the pita chips in a circle on a large plate, then load on the sticky beef mince. Follow with a very good drizzle of the green tahini sauce, then scatter over the quick pickled cucumber, mint, parsley, feta, pomegranate seeds and finish with the dukkah.

Notes

NO FOOD PROCESSOR? Make a simple tahini garlic sauce. Add the 1/2 cup of tahini to a small bowl along with 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix that with a fork (it’ll go very thick and stiff). Drizzle in 1/3 cup of water, mixing with the fork as you go until a creamy, cohesive sauce forms. It will feel like it won’t mix but just keep mixing, I promise it will!

INGREDIENT NOTES: You could use flat-leaf parsley, basil or cilantro in place of mint. If you can’t find pomegranate seeds you can skip them. You could use lamb in place of beef, or use chicken or turkey mince, or a vegetarian alternative. The pita chips are lovely but you could also use toasted pita bread – allow 1 pita per person and just chop the toasted bread up into triangles.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Any leftover beef will keep well for at least 3 days, stored in the fridge. The pita chips will keep for a couple of weeks, stored in an airtight container.

Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 10
Category: meat
Method: stove top
Cuisine: mediterranean

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 plate

Keywords: nachos, beef nachos, fatteh, sticky beef nachos, ground beef recipes