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Ftat Derna (Layered Torn Rqaq Bread with Spiced Broth and Lamb)
Hand-stretched griddle flatbreads shredded and steeped in a rich, spiced tomato-lamb broth topped with melting meat and chickpeas.
The story
Hailing from the historic coastal city of Derna in Cyrenaica, Ftat Derna is the ultimate culinary gesture of eastern Libyan hospitality served to honored guests at banquets. The dish revolves around paper-thin griddled pastry leaves known as rqaq, which are torn into bite-sized shreds and soaked in a robust lamb stock scented with bzar spice blend. A critical regional technique involves baking the rqaq on an inverted convex griddle (tawa) or dry skillet without browning, yielding soft yet resilient dough layers that absorb broth without dissolving into mush.
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