Best Ful Medames Recipes

FUL MEDAMES

Steps:

• As the cooking time varies depending on the quality and age of the beans, it is good to cook them in advance and to reheat them when you are ready to serve. Cook the drained beans in a fresh portion of unsalted water in a large saucepan with the lid on until tender, adding water to keep them covered, and salt when the beans have softened. They take 2-2 1/2 hours of gentle simmering. When the beans are soft, let the liquid reduce. It is usual to take out a ladle or two of the beans and to mash them with some of the cooking liquid, then stir this back into the beans. This is to thicken the sauce.
• Serve the beans in soup bowls sprinkled with chopped parsley and accompanied by Arab bread.
• Pass round the dressing ingredients for everyone to help themselves: a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, the quartered lemons, salt and pepper, a little saucer with the crushed garlic, one with chili-pepper flakes, and one with ground cumin.
• The beans are eaten gently crushed with the fork, so that they absorb the dressing.
• Optional Garnishes
• Peel hard-boiled eggs-1 per person-to cut up in the bowl with the beans.
• Top the beans with a chopped cucumber-and-tomato salad and thinly sliced mild onions or scallions. Otherwise, pass round a good bunch of scallions and quartered tomatoes and cucumbers cut into sticks.
• Serve with tahina cream sauce (page 65) or salad (page 67), with pickles and sliced onions soaked in vinegar for 30 minutes.
• Another way of serving ful medames is smothered in a garlicky tomato sauce (see page 464).
• In Syria and Lebanon, they eat ful medames with yogurt or feta cheese, olives, and small cucumbers.
• Variations
• A traditional way of thickening the sauce is to throw a handful of red lentils (1/4 cup) into the water at the start of the cooking.
• In Iraq, large brown beans are used instead of the small Egyptian ones, in a dish called badkila, which is also sold for breakfast in the street.

FUL MEDAMES

Steps:

• Cover the beans with water and soak overnight. The next day, drain the beans and place in a large saucepan with garlic. Add water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, add eggs in their shells, the juice of the lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the beans for 12 hours, or until tender, checking occasionally and adding water if needed. Into each individual bowl, place 1 tablespoon chopped scallion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Peel the eggs and place one in each bowl. Peel the eggs and place one in each bowl. Spoon in the ful. Serve with Egyptian pickles and toasted pita.

FUL MEDAMES - EGYPTIAN FAVA BEANS

Steps:

• Soak beans overnight in water.
• Drain, and cover with fresh water in large saucepan.
• Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until beans are tender.
• Drain and place in medium bowl.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Beans and remaining ingredients can be mashed together, or the beans can be left whole and gently mixed with remaining ingredients.
• It is more commonly served mashed together.
• Serve hot with a fried egg and pita bread.

FUL MEDAMES (EGYPTIAN FAVA BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• 1. In a large flameproof casserole over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes. 2. Stir in the cumin and crushed red pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in sesame seeds. Cook 1 minute more. 3. Add the fava beans, lemon rind and juice, and water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, set on the cover askew, and simmer for 20 minutes. 4. Remove 1/3 of the bean mixture from the pot. With a potato masher, mash the beans. Stir the mashed beans back into pot. Season with salt and pepper. Remove 2 cups of the stew for the pita pockets. 5. Ladle the remaining stew into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley and olive oil. Serve with a crusty loaf.

FUL MEDAMES

Steps:

• Drain the beans and place in a large saucepan.
• Add 7 cups of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Reduce the heat to low and add the juice of 1 lemon, the garlic and the salt.
• Cover and simmer over low heat (the beans will retain their shape only if cooked slowly) until the beans are soft-- moist but not soupy-- about 12 hours.
• You should do this ideally in the crock pot.
• Check occasionally and add water if the beans become dry.
• Twenty minutes before serving, chop the scallions and combine with the remaining lemon juice.
• Stir in the oil, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• Discard the garlic and gently stir the lemon mixture into the beans.
• Adjust seasoning.
• Spoon into bowls, mash slightly.
• Serve warm with pita bread.

FUL MEDAMES WITH EGGS AND PITA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and half of the onion; season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and the cumin. Cook, stirring, until the onion is soft, about 3 minutes.
• Add the fava beans and 1 1/4 cups water to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Mash the beans slightly with a potato masher or a large serving fork, leaving some of the beans whole. Add an additional 1/4 cup water if the beans are too stiff; they should have the consistency of a thick stew.
• Combine the jalapeño, parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until fine. Stir the mixture into the beans and season with more salt and pepper. Stir together the remaining onion, the tomato and cucumber in a bowl.
• Bring a large pot of water to a gentle simmer. One at a time, crack each egg into a small bowl and gently slip into the simmering water. Cook until the whites are set and the yolks are cooked to the desired doneness, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.
• Divide the bean mixture among bowls. Top with the poached eggs and tomato-cucumber mixture; drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with the pita wedges.