Mashed fava beans for breakfast… and why not?
It’s only a small step from the baked beans slopped onto every full English served in the UK.
And Egypt’s ful medames are all the nicer for not being in a sickly sweet tomato sauce.
My recipe is adapted from the one in Claudia Roden’s The Book of Jewish Food.
Ful medames
(serves 4)
- 2 cups dried whole fava beans
- ¼ cup red lentils
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- salt and pepper
- olive oil, lemon wedges, hard-boiled eggs, harissa, chopped fresh parsley, to serve
- Soak the dried beans in fresh water overnight.
- Drain and rinse the beans. Transfer to a large saucepan with the red lentils and garlic, and cover with fresh water.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until tender, topping up the liquid if necessary.
- When the beans are soft, increase the heat and boil off any excess liquid. Mash lightly with a fork to thicken further.
- Add the cumin, and season with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle with olive oil and serve warm, accompanied by lemon wedges, hard-boiled eggs, harissa and chopped parsley, if desired.
Ten More Bites 
My aunt taught me how to make these (she learned from an Egyptian friend). She uses tinned favas heated, then stir in chopped tomatoes, parsley, garlic, seasoning, cumin and olive oil. Then served with a tahini sauce – tahini thinned down with water and vinegar with salt and cumin stirred in. Makes a nice, fast lunch with bread to scoop. X
That sounds good, and I like the idea of adding the tomatoes. Our version, while tasty enough, could be seen as a bit austere. Went with the dried favas thinking the cooking liquid might add to the final flavour, but would be simpler to go the tinned route in future. x