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

Ingredients

• 400 g can fava beans (available online) or broad beans
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 100 ml 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)
• 0.5 lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp tahini

Steps

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.