Ful Medames

Breakfast means breakfast but in Egypt it usually means Ful Medames, a delicious broad bean stew with plenty of cumin and lemony flavours. 

Its often accompanied by a hard boiled egg, tomato, cucumber, onion, a drizzle of tahini sauce, a pinch of Aleppo pepper, a sprinkle of ground cumin, and mopped up with warm pitta bread. 

Ingredients

225g dried Fava (broad) beans 
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes,  de-seeded and chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp olive oil 
juice of 1 lemon (adjust to taste)
1 handful of chopped flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

to serve
one or all of the following

hard boiled egg, halved
Aleppo pepper (or cayenne) 
ground cumin
cucumber, sliced
tomato, sliced
red onion, thinly sliced (soaked in lemon juice)
drizzle of lemon juice

for the tahini sauce
60g tahini
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Salt, to taste

Method

Begin by preparing the dried fava beans the night before. Wash them thoroughly then soak overnight in a bowl of water with a pinch of bicarbonate soda. 

In the morning, rinse the beans then bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the dried fava beans and cook as per their instructions. Removing the scum with a ladle as and when it needs. When cooked, remove from the heat. Drain, but reserve some of the cooking water. Set aside.

In another saucepan heat the olive oil over a medium to high heat. Add the chopped onion, followed by the garlic. Fry for a minute then add the ground cumin. Stir in well.

Next add the chopped tomatoes, half the lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes to slightly reduce the tomatoes before adding the cooked fava beans and a few ladles full of the cooking water. 

Bring to a boil before reducing back to a simmer. Cook until the stew has been brought together. The consistency is personal. Some prefer it thicker and will mash some of the beans to thicken up the stew.

Serve in a bowl, adding your preferred toppings.