May 22

May 22 "Recipe for Eggplant Fatteh" by Claire Morris

Cooking is one of my favorite activities to do with my host mom. She is a fantastic cook and has been kind enough to show me how to make some of her favorite recipes. Below is step by step instructions for how to make Eggplant Fatteh (or at least my host mom’s take on it!)

Ingredients:

(I apologize in advance for lack of exact measurements. The entirety of this meal was taught to me using the very precise method of “eh that looks like enough”)

For the Base:

Jordanian Flatbread (although any flat bread will do)
Eggplant
Onion
Tomato
Olive Oil or Ghee for frying

For the Sauce:

Leben
Tahini
Lemon
Salt

For the Garnishes:

Ground Beef
Parsley
Pine Nuts or Almond Slivers

Instructions:

We will begin by preparing some of the base ingredients.

Start by cutting up the eggplant into smaller cubes and then frying them in oil until lightly browned. Remove from heat and dab dry. Photo credit: Morris, 2026.

Then cut or tear the flatbread into strips and fry them in oil until crispy. Remove from heat and dab dry. Photo credit: Morris, 2026.

Chopped tomatoes cook in a pan on the stove — Then dice tomatoes and onion and heat over medium heat in a pan until the onions become soft. Remove from heat. Photo credit: Morris, 2026.

Ground beef is cooked in a skillet on the stove with a spoon to stir — Then heat the ground beef over the stove until fully cooked and then set it aside for now. Photo credit: Morris, 2026.

Next is preparing the sauce.

Someone spoons leben from a plastic container into a bowl.

With two spoons, someone stirs in tahini into leben in a bowl

In a bowl, mix leben, a couple spoonfuls of tahini and about half a lemon’s worth of juice. Add a pinch of salt to taste. It should be about the consistency of Greek yogurt. Then set aside. Photo credit: Morris, 2026.

Begin constructing the dish by placing the fried bread down on a large plate. Then add the layer of fried eggplant. Photo credit: Morris, 2026.

Tomato is added on top of a layer of eggplant and fried flatbread on a dish — Now add a layer of the tomato and onion mixture on top. Photo credit: Morris, 2026.

Someone spreads a creamy mixture on top of layers of eggplant and tomato in a kitchen — Then generously spread the sauce on top so that there is an even layer covering the whole dish. Photo credit: Morris, 2026.

Someone sprinkles parsley on top of the dish. — Then sprinkle the ground beef and optional chopped parsley on top of the sauce. Photo credit: Morris, 2026.

Someone scoops toasted nuts and olive oil on top of a dish of food. — Finally prepare the nuts by lightly frying them in oil and sprinkling them (and a drizzle of the oil if it’s good ghee or olive oil) on top. Photo credit, Morris, 2026.

Serve warm or cold and enjoy!!!

Claire is a student at the University of Richmond, and studying abroad in Spring 2026 on Amideast’s Area and Arabic Language Study Program in Amman, Jordan.