Ful Medammes

This is a really lovely, simple dish that I feel works well when coupled with long hours of study or work. Traditionally a street and breakfast food in Egypt that originally was made overnight in clay pots put near massive trash burn fires, it is simple to prepare (albeit time consuming if starting from dried beans), nourishing and flavourful. I always forget that I’ve got dried favas around, and I really don’t know why I do that. Child Tester is way into this breakfast, though she likes it the best when I take the time to peel the beans. You can imagine I don’t do that often, but it legitimately does make the ful better. Quite a bit better.

What is really cool about this dish other than its history is that you really can just do what you want with it. The main thing is to get the beans cooked (and, ideally, peeled), and then do your add-ins. My friend Farah tells me that her mother-in-law does these really properly and well with peeled beans, and that it’s always super yum when her MIL makes them. Make sure you smash up some of the beans, too: this should hit some kind of middle ground between “oh hey I have beans” and purée, because then you get the better textural variances.

Here’s what you’ll need

1/2 pound dried fava beans
lots of water
pinch of salt

salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
2 tablespoons olive oil (bust out the good stuff for this)
2-3 tablespoons finely chopped pickles
2-3 tablespoons thinly sliced pickled chiles
1 small clove of garlic, pressed into a paste (I mince it then press it with salt and a knife)
as many sliced, hard boiled eggs you think you’ll want in here.

You’ll also need some bread to eat this. I use pita, you do you. It's also good with some olives on it, slow cooked onions/leeks/shallot, or a touch of cheese, or hot sauce, or whatever you like. I like tomatoes in here, too. Basically the extra, optional ingredients are whatever you want to put in there.

Here’s what you’ll do

Combine the first group of ingredients and boil, covered, at medium to medium-high heat for 2- 2 1/2 hours or until soft. I like it so my skins are firm but the flesh is tender and has a lot of give but with a small amount of firmness remaining. Drain the beans from the water (I save this and water my plants). Add the second group of ingredients and mix them into the beans. I smash some of the beans a little with my spoon, but not most of them, for textural variance. Let sit 15-20 minutes while you bake your pita (or warm it in the oven) or other bread (today was regular bread since I'd already made that and I didn't have time to make pita). Slather onto the bread, or just eat it with a fork. Serves 2.