Hodmedod's version of the classic Egyptian ful medames, which went down very well at the Aldeburgh Food Festival in 2012 when we offered samples to show off the potential of British-grown Whole Fava Beans. |
The national dish of Egypt, ful medames is a delicious spicy stew traditionally eaten for breakfast (and to break fast), often with eggs.
Myriad variations of this dish are cooked across North Africa and the Middle East. Here's the recipe for our version, inspired by the classic Egyptian dish but made with Hodmedod's British-grown beans, of course!
(If you’re pushed for time you could try our 15-minute ful medames.)
Serves 4-6 (ideal for home freezing)
I have enjoyed ful medames in Egypt and elsewhere but I do find recipes with 16 ingredients rather challenging – and that’s before the eggs – flatbread and tomatoes that traditionally go with this dish.
Just cooked this using our home grown coriander and parsley….totally delicious…now off to attempt gluten free flatbreads to go with xx
I got these beans from my zero waste shop. recipe is so good, mine looks nothing like the picture! Really lovely flavours. Based on the previous comments I used half a lemon and 1 tsp of powdered cumin. If anyone is cooking the beans in an IP then eight minutes at normal pressure worked well,having soaked overnight. I did seven mins initially and had a few harder beans, so pressure cooked for another 1 min
Delicious recipe, and delicious beans!
I would recommend one change. Add lemon later. I found that the lemon and the tomatoes made the dish a bit too sour for me (and I normally really like sour). Therefore, I would maybe add a bit of lemon initially, and then top up later if needed.
These are truly great bean to work with, I worked in Africa for years and in particular Sufan, street vendors used to sell the breakfast roll and it was absolutely amazing, highly recommend this as a nutritious meal, so tasty
Too much cumin, I will try again with just 1/2 tsp
Worth making the slow way, with rich deep flavours and a hearty consistency. It freezes beautifully, so making up a large potful is both economical and handy. Use for any meal, but especially nice for breakfast, topped with a poached egg and dribbled with chilli sauce.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Nick Saltmarsh
Author