Ful medames
Try this brilliant Egyptian recipe from the head chef of London restaurant Ombra. Made using fava beans, it’s mashed into a chunky purée along with garlic, lemon and tahini
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Prep:5 mins
Cook:35 mins
- Easy
Nutrition per serving
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kcal 335
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fat 30g
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saturates 4g
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carbs 8g
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sugars 0g
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fibre 4g
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protein 6g
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salt 3.1g
Ingredients
- 400g can fava beans (available online) or broad beans
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 100ml olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 large, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped (or 200g can of chopped tomatoes, if tomatoes aren’t in season)
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp tahini
Method
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.
