1. Middle Eastern inspired Fetteh Bowl with Spiced Chicken

Journey to the Middle East - ‘Fetteh’ inspired spiced chicken bowl

This is simply a layered bowl packed with protein and vegetables. I chose to explain each step in detail but the gist of this dish is just layering - From bottom to top : pita chips, warm chick peas, spiced pan fried chicken or a shredded rotisserie chicken (sprinkled with the spice blend), yoghurt/tahini sauce, diced veggies and garnish. Simple, simple, simple!

Prep is key!

This meal is easily assembled in mere minutes,

1. a bit of prep work dicing your favourite vegetables for the topping

2. a quick pan fry of your protein or, simply shred a store bought rotisserie chicken and sprinkle on the spice blend

3. warm up some a can of chickpeas on the stovetop

4. a simple pita chip prep using an air fryer or oven or store bought

5. topped off with a flavourful yoghurt/tahini dressing, a sprinkle of sumac and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

This recipe promises to very quickly become a family favourite when you are in a pinch for time.

I do go into a lot of detail in this post explaining this recipe.

Keep in mind it is just a layered bowl of your favourites.

Ingredient list - Method and assembly is below

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bitesized pieces - OR - a store bought rotisserie chicken shredded

Yogurt-tahini sauce

1/4 cup Tahini

1/2 cup Plain yoghurt

a good squeeze of lemon

Spice blend  (see below as you are blending several together)

Vegetables

4 or 5 vegetables diced

1 cup of pita chips made from cutting 2 large loaves or 3 small into ‘chip’ size

Extra virgin olive oil for cooking the chicken and then drizzling at the end

Options for garnishing at the end- pomegranate seeds, fresh chopped mint, small handful of toasted slivered almonds or toasted pine nuts.

Some delicious vegetable ideas listed below -

Cucumber

Tomato

Carrot (if using it is better to shred not dice)

Parsley

Mint

Bell peppers

Red cabbage

Olive oil

scallions/ green onion

Garnish

Sumac

toasted nuts (optional) - walnuts, pinenuts, slivered almonds

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling at time of serving

Method -

These are the simple steps that you will be doing – super easy and everything comes together in under 30 minutes.

1. Assemble the spice mixture.

2. Mix the yogurt tahini dressing.

3. Prepare the pita chips.

4. Boil the can of chickpeas and strain.

5. Chop the chicken breasts and coat with the spice mixture to pan fry – if using a rotisserie chicken shred the chicken. The spices will be sprinkled on the chicken (a generous dusting should do it.)

6. Dice some veggies.

7. Top the bowls with the dressing.

8. Assemble the ingredients one on top of the other like one would in an “assembly line” and serve.

Once you have made this recipe one time, the assembly line prep will be a new favourite method.

THE RECIPE

1. Spice blend –

This blend once mixed will last for multiple uses/meals. I usually store mine in a small glass jar or when in a pinch this blend easily stores in a small Ziploc bag. Once you have made this recipe a few times you can play with the quantities of spice from this footprint.

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Garlic Powder

½ tsp Onion Powder

1 tsp Coriander

½ tsp Cinnamon

½ tsp Oregano

½ tsp Turmeric (optional)

½ tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Salt

½ tsp Mint (optional)

Mix all these spices and set aside.

2. Dressing  -

¼ cup tahini

½ cup yoghurt

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp garlic powder (optional)

good squeeze of lemon

Mix your dressing and place in the fridge until just before you are ready to serve. The flavours will all meld together and create the most glorious topping to your meal. The actual ratio of yoghurt to tahini is 2:1 so use this as a guideline to size up or down.

3. Pita Chips – 

(Feel free to substitute ready made pita chips or cooked rice. Each serving will use about 1 cup of the cooked chips. The amount of rice will be to your liking, I would recommend at least ½ cup per person).

Using store bought pita bread, cut 3 small pita loaves or 2 large loaves into bite sized squares. Approximately 1 inch square – the size of the chips is not crucial.

I like to toss the pita bread in 3 tablespoons of olive oil and some dried dill weed or oregano w a pinch of salt.

Air fryer method –

Place the pita bread/chips in the air fryer on high or 400F until lightly golden and crispy, about 5 minutes.

Conventional oven method –

Preheat the oven 400F

Mix the pita bread in ¼ cup of olive oil and spice of choice (½  tsp Dill or Oregano and ½ tsp salt ) try to coat all the chips evenly.

Place the chips on a cookie tray in preheated oven and bake for about 7 minutes or until golden and crispy.

4. Chickpeas -

Boil a can of chickpeas for 3 to 5 minutes, strain and set aside. This recipe is for 4 bowls (¼ cup chickpeas approx. per bowl)

5. Protein –

I always use chicken breasts cut into small bite sized pieces or, a shredded rotisserie chicken dusted with the spice blend.

3 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small bite sized pieces (or a shredded rotisserie chicken and coat in the spice blend)

3 Tbsp of olive oil

3 Tbsp spice blend (generously coat)

Coat the chicken in the spice mixture.

Heat the olive oil in your pan and fry the chicken until done. Taste the cooked chicken, if you require more salt please add some!

6. Vegetables –

Some suggested vegetable add-ins.

Dice several vegetables as toppings (I do at least 3 or 4 different veggies for my bowls you can use as many or as little as you like). You will need approx. 1 cup of each vegetable for this recipe to make four servings (1/4 cup of each vegetable per bowl). I recommend dicing the vegetables as it makes for a more delicious bite.

We are now ready to assemble.

Bowl Assembly –

Have 4 large soup bowls or ‘buddah bowl’ sized dishes ready for assembly line type prep.

Order of operations for each bowl is as such:

1.     Pita Chips (1 cup) on the bottom, follow with

2.     Chick peas ¼ cup per bowl,

3.     Place the cooked spiced chicken on the pita chips,

4.     Sprinkle the cold veggies and chick peas on top of the chicken,

5.     Garnish with the yogurt/tahini dressing.

6.     Optional toppings over the dressing, chopped parsley and chopped mint, pomegranate seeds, toasted slivered almonds and/or pine nuts…, sumac and a final pinch of sea salt. Drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil.

Recipe recap:

1. Assemble the spice mixture.

2. Mix the yogurt/tahini dressing.

3. Prepare the pita chips.

4. Boil the can of chickpeas and strain.

5. Prepare the chicken and coat with the spice mixture.

6. Dice the vegetables.

7. Assemble the bowls and top with extra chopped parsley and mint and pomegranate seeds and/or toasted nuts. I like to sprinkle the final bowls with sumac and a pinch of sea salt. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Serve and enjoy!