Ful Medames – traditional Egyptian fava beans and lentils
These dishes made with the richly flavoured and traditional Middle Eastern Fava bean show the versatility of beans.
Start by soaking two cups of dry Fava beans overnight.
I then divide the batch into two. I deliberately didn’t shell the skins off as they are full of fibre and nutrition.
First -to make Ful Medames, a traditional Eygptian dish, I simmered the first cup of whole fava beans in a large pot with a cup of red lentils, some cumin seeds and a couple of bay leaves for over two hours until the beans were tender, falling out of their shells, the lentils were well cooked and the whole sauce thickened.
This dish is fragrant but not overpoweringly spicy. I served it while warm and lavished it with chopped fresh cilantro, ground cumin, lemon juice, olive oil, seasoning to taste with sea salt and ground pepper. It is a very appetising dish which goes well with flat bread, as its easy to scoop.
Harissa & fava bean burger
For the second dish, I wanted to stay on the Middle Eastern flavour profile and also show how beans make a great base for traditional burgers.
I simmered the rest of the batch of soaked beans (one cup) for two hours in plenty of aromatic water using several whole bay leaves, some fresh thyme leaves from the garden and some dried parsley flakes.
I then drained the beans and put them in a large bowl and mashed them while they were warm with a potato masher (it’s nice to leave some whole beans rather than puree them).
Separately, I sauteed a large diced yellow onion and three cloves of minced garlic in some coconut oil and added into the fry pan a “Harissa” spice blend of 1 tsp each of ground paprika, dried mint, cumin powder and chili powder.
I let it sautee until the spices were well developed, toasted and fragrant and then mixed the wet mix into the beans and added half a cup of panko breadcrumbs and a flaxseed “egg” made from 1 tbsp of ground flaxseed mixed with a little water to bind the mixture.
I let the mixture cool in the fridge before forming into burger patties and frying them quickly in grapeseed oil. I made a refreshing sauce of cucumber and garlic cashew cream to serve on the side. It was a delicious burger and next time I would try to bake it in the oven to make it even healthier.
