Ful Medames Egyptian Fava Bean Stew Recipes

FOUL MUDAMMAS (EGYPTIAN FAVA BEANS)

Steps:

• In a cast iron skillet or saucepan, add the fava beans and ½ cup water. Warm over medium-high heat. Season with kosher salt and cumin. Use a potato masher or fork to mash the fava beans.
• In a morter and pestle, add the hot peppers and garlic. Smash. Add in juice of one lemon and stir to combine.
• Pour the garlic and hot pepper sauce over the fava beans. Add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Top with chopped parsley, diced tomatoes, and a few slices of hot peppers, if you like.
• Serve with pita bread, sliced veggies and olives.

FUL MEDAMES

Steps:

• As the cooking time varies depending on the quality and age of the beans, it is good to cook them in advance and to reheat them when you are ready to serve. Cook the drained beans in a fresh portion of unsalted water in a large saucepan with the lid on until tender, adding water to keep them covered, and salt when the beans have softened. They take 2-2 1/2 hours of gentle simmering. When the beans are soft, let the liquid reduce. It is usual to take out a ladle or two of the beans and to mash them with some of the cooking liquid, then stir this back into the beans. This is to thicken the sauce.
• Serve the beans in soup bowls sprinkled with chopped parsley and accompanied by Arab bread.
• Pass round the dressing ingredients for everyone to help themselves: a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, the quartered lemons, salt and pepper, a little saucer with the crushed garlic, one with chili-pepper flakes, and one with ground cumin.
• The beans are eaten gently crushed with the fork, so that they absorb the dressing.
• Optional Garnishes
• Peel hard-boiled eggs-1 per person-to cut up in the bowl with the beans.
• Top the beans with a chopped cucumber-and-tomato salad and thinly sliced mild onions or scallions. Otherwise, pass round a good bunch of scallions and quartered tomatoes and cucumbers cut into sticks.
• Serve with tahina cream sauce (page 65) or salad (page 67), with pickles and sliced onions soaked in vinegar for 30 minutes.
• Another way of serving ful medames is smothered in a garlicky tomato sauce (see page 464).
• In Syria and Lebanon, they eat ful medames with yogurt or feta cheese, olives, and small cucumbers.
• Variations
• A traditional way of thickening the sauce is to throw a handful of red lentils (1/4 cup) into the water at the start of the cooking.
• In Iraq, large brown beans are used instead of the small Egyptian ones, in a dish called badkila, which is also sold for breakfast in the street.

FUUL (SOMALI-STYLE FAVA BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• In a medium pot or deep skillet over medium heat, warm up the olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, add the onion and stir. Let the onions cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and almost translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Once the onions have cooked, add in the garlic and let it cook until it softens, about 2 minutes. Add the roughly chopped tomatoes and let them cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes or until they start to break down. Add the salt.
• While the tomato mixture cooks, prepare the xawaash mix: Add the cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon and cardamom to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat, stirring continuously, for 1 minute or until the spice mix becomes fragrant.
• Add the xawaash mix to the simmering tomato and onions. While the tomatoes finish cooking, add the rinsed fava beans to a medium bowl and use a pestle to mash them until there are almost no whole beans left. Stir the mashed beans into the tomatoes.
• Stir in the tomato sauce, 1 cup of water and the chopped cilantro leaves into the bean and tomato mixture. Cover the pan and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in up to an additional ⅓ cup of water if the stew gets too thick.
• Serve the fuul with anjero, if desired. Leftovers keep for about a week in the refrigerator.

FUL MEDAMES

Steps:

• Drain the beans and rinse. Fill the empty, clean can with water and pour into a saucepan with the beans. Bring them to the boil to warm through, then take them off the heat.
• Meanwhile, in a separate medium frying pan, gently fry the onion and garlic in all but a few tablespoons of the olive oil for 5 mins, then add 2 tsp sea salt flakes, the cumin, chilli flakes and tomatoes. Drain the beans, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Add to the onion mixture and cook over a low heat for 30 mins, stirring often and adding some of the cooking liquid if it looks dry.
• Using a potato masher, mash the beans with the remaining olive oil, lemon juice and tahini. The final consistency should be a chunky, soft purée. If it splits slightly, mix in a drop of cold water.