Ana Sortun's Flatbreads with Spiced Chicken and Pistachios

It is exceedingly difficult to photograph flatbreads appealingly. It is, however, exceedingly easy to consume said unphotogenic flatbreads at an alarming rate. Especially when smeared with a spoonful of yogurt or dipped into a greenish mound of smoked aubergine crush (I can't stop repeating this recipe title over and over in my head). Fragrant with herbs and sesame seeds, spiced chicken and the barely-there whisper of ground pistachios, the flatbreads bend and break in your hands. They're crunchy in some places, pliant in others. The yogurt adds a smooth textural note and a cooling sensation.

The recipe comes from Ana Sortun's cookbook that has been featured in both the LA Times and NY Times. Sortun, the chef at Oleana in Cambridge, is a spice obsessed and her recipes are vehicles for all those spice-filled jars and packets you have stowed away in your kitchen (or freezer, though it might drive your co-habitants nuts to have all those little glass jars clinking up against frozen brussels sprouts and limeade concentrate).

Despite the long list of ingredients, this recipe is quick and easy. You pulse together chicken with minced vegetables, dark-red sumac, aromatic Aleppo pepper, savory za'atar, toasted pistachios and some binding agents. This mixture is smeared onto Persian lavash (I bought a Lebanese version called pain du village that might have been a touch too thin, and got crispier results) and baked in a hot oven.

I left off the garnish of roasted red peppers and didn't miss them at all. For two girls catching up on life, the flatbreads were good enough for dinner, along with the eggplant and yogurt. But for future reference, I'll slice the cooked flatbreads into thick strips and serve them as an hors d'oeuvre. As for the leftovers? I created sort of Indo-Mexican roll-ups, with a layer of eggplant and then a layer of yogurt smeared onto the warmed flatbread and folded.

Tasty indeed - they could give Ilene Rosen's hot sandwich choices a run for the money.

Flatbreads with Spiced Chicken and Pistachios
Makes 8 servings

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 red bell peppers, 1 minced, 2 roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into strips
1 small onion, minced
3 scallions, minced
2 teaspoons sumac, more for garnish
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon za'atar, more for garnish
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1 egg
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup lightly toasted, finely ground pistachio nuts
4 large rectangles of lavash
Pepper to taste
1 cup thick yogurt

1. Cut chicken into 2-inch chunks and place them in a food processor. Process to a smooth paste until it forms a ball, about 1 minute. Add minced red pepper, onion, scallions, sumac, Aleppo or cayenne pepper, za'atar, salt, egg, cream and pistachios, and pulse together just until incorporated, about 6 pulses.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees; heat a pizza stone if you have one. Cut lavash into rectangles, about 5 by 6 inches. Cover each piece with about 1/3 cup chicken mixture, spreading to edges.

3. Place on a heavy baking sheet or pizza stone and bake 12 to 15 minutes, until crips and chicken is cooked through. While still hot, sprinkle with additional sumac and za'atar. Serve warm with a dollop of yogurt, and strips of roasted pepper on each.

Comments

[Melissa]

Wow, this looks so... interesting! And incredibly delicious. You've seriously tempted me to buy Ana Sortun's book, despite the fact that I just returned from the US with a dozen new ones...

[Paige]

Do you have Ana Sortun's book? I've been tempted to buy it--when the NYT was running its series with her, I wanted to make just about every recipe they featured (but of course, haven't gotten around to them yet...)

[Lindy]

This sounds totally fantastic. I have everything but the pistachios and the flatbreads. Wait, I have flatbreads..I know what I'm getting tomorrow.

[Sofia]

I'll make anything that calls for pistachios!

Thanks for the eating recommendations in NY. By the way, Al Di La in Park Slope was one of the best I've had in a while. I'm gone for a couple weeks, and have come back to so many exciting recipes (will definitely try the corn fritters)! Let me take the time now to wish you a belated blog b-day! Your site is one of the few bookmarks I have and check on with anticipation. I have done more cooking and eaten many delicious meals because of you! Thank you!!

[Rebecca]

This sounds so good! I absolutely adore the flavors of sumac and za-atar - that ineffable tartness. When I was little our (Presbyterian) minister had a Lebanese wife so I was introduced to a lot of these flavors at a young age; I was very lucky!

[Tiny Banquet Committee]

This sounds SO good - I love sumac, za'atar and pistachios, and I love making a meal out of something hors d'oeuvre-y!

[Natalia]

All those different flavors sound wonderful together. I love flat breads, especially when you spice them up like this. I really need to try this!

[Luisa]

Melissa - if you do give in to temptation, you'll have to tell me what you think of the book (I'm under the equivalent of cookbook house arrest - no new ones allowed in the house...)

Paige - I don't own it, so I can't totally advise to buy it, but I've heard good things about her other excerpted recipes. Perhaps checking it out of the library is a good middle path?

Lindy - don't you just love it when you find a recipe that sounds delicious and then you have everything (or almost) that you need to make it? I call that serendipity. What did you think of these?

Sofia - well, thank you very kindly! I'm so glad you're doing exactly what I hoped the blog would do - inspire people to cook and enjoy food. As for those corn fritters, well, I wish I had some right now (still!). Glad you liked Al di La...

Rebecca - lucky indeed! What's especially nice about those flavors is that as exotic as they are, they're also quite approachable and friendly - not overpowering. Yum.

TBQ - I agree! It makes a grazing meal so much more satisfying and fun.

Natalia - you do! They're so tasty.

[gemma]

oh bother. I should have stuck around for that indo-mexican rollup. Sounds scrummy. Thanks for another delicious meal and the wonderful catch up x