Tiss'ye

Preparation 1. In a cooking pot, heat the chickpeas in water (to cover) over medium heat, then lower heat to a simmer. 2. Meanwhile, mash garlic with 1 teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle, then gradually drizzle in the lemon juice and keep mashing until you have a creamy paste. Stir mixture into yogurt, mix in the tahini, and set aside. 3. Tear the pita into roughly 1-inch pieces. Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat, and fry the bread pieces until browned and crisp, then set aside to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Alternatively, toast the pita halves instead of frying, then break the bread into pieces. 4. Drain chickpeas, place them in a bowl, and sprinkle with cumin and salt to taste. 5. A few minutes before you're ready to serve the dish, heat butter over medium heat and sauteé pine nuts until browned, being careful not to blacken them. 6. In a deep-sided serving dish, place one layer of the bread pieces, followed by a layer of the chickpeas, and alternate layers until you run out of ingredients (depending on the size of your dish, you may only have one layer of each). Ladle the yogurt over the top. Sprinkle the pine nuts in their butter over top, and add a pinch of paprika for color (optional). Serve immediately, while bread is crisp. Reprinted with permission from Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut by Salma Abdelnour. Copyright © 2012 by Salma Abdelnour. Published by Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher SALMA ABDELNOUR is a writer and editor based in New York City. She has been the travel editor of Food & Wine, the food editor of O, The Oprah Magazine, and the restaurant editor of Time Out New York

Preparation 1. In a cooking pot, heat the chickpeas in water (to cover) over medium heat, then lower heat to a simmer. 2. Meanwhile, mash garlic with 1 teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle, then gradually drizzle in the lemon juice and keep mashing until you have a creamy paste. Stir mixture into yogurt, mix in the tahini, and set aside. 3. Tear the pita into roughly 1-inch pieces. Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat, and fry the bread pieces until browned and crisp, then set aside to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Alternatively, toast the pita halves instead of frying, then break the bread into pieces. 4. Drain chickpeas, place them in a bowl, and sprinkle with cumin and salt to taste. 5. A few minutes before you're ready to serve the dish, heat butter over medium heat and sauteé pine nuts until browned, being careful not to blacken them. 6. In a deep-sided serving dish, place one layer of the bread pieces, followed by a layer of the chickpeas, and alternate layers until you run out of ingredients (depending on the size of your dish, you may only have one layer of each). Ladle the yogurt over the top. Sprinkle the pine nuts in their butter over top, and add a pinch of paprika for color (optional). Serve immediately, while bread is crisp. Reprinted with permission from Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut by Salma Abdelnour. Copyright © 2012 by Salma Abdelnour. Published by Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher SALMA ABDELNOUR is a writer and editor based in New York City. She has been the travel editor of Food & Wine, the food editor of O, The Oprah Magazine, and the restaurant editor of Time Out New York