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
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 2 persons
Ingredients
- 400g can fava beans (available online) or broad beans
- 1small onion, finely chopped
- 2garlic cloves, crushed
- 100ml olive oil
- 2tsp ground cumin
- 1tsp chilli flakes
- 2large, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped (or 200g can of chopped tomatoes, if tomatoes aren’t in season)
- ½lemon, juiced
- 2tbsp tahini
Instructions
Step 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.Step 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.Step 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.