Ingredients
Amounts are for the recipe. Sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.
Beans
Dressing
To serve
Amounts worked out from the other system are rounded.
Method
With dried beans
Soak the fava beans (250 g9 oz) overnight in plenty of cold water.
Drain them and put them in a heavy pot with fresh water to cover by about 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a boil and skim. Cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 2 to 3 hours, topping up with hot water as needed, until the beans are completely soft and the liquid has thickened. Don't salt them until they are tender.
With canned beans
Tip the beans and their liquid into a saucepan with a splash of water. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until hot and slightly thickened.
Dress and serve
Crush the garlic cloves (3) to a paste with the salt (¾ tsp). Stir it into the hot beans with the cumin (1½ tsp), lemon juice (45 g3 tbsp) and olive oil (55 g4 tbsp).
Mash about half the beans against the side of the pot with a fork, leaving the rest whole. Loosen with a little of the cooking liquid if it is stiff. Taste for salt and lemon.
Spoon into bowls and pour over more olive oil. Top with the tomato, parsley, scallions and the chili, and with tahini and hard-boiled eggs if you like. Eat with warm pita.
Notes
- Beans. Use the small brown fava beans sold at Middle Eastern groceries as ful hammam or ful medames. Large fava beans have tough skins that need peeling. Cans are often labelled foul medammas.
- Make ahead. The cooked beans keep 4 to 5 days in the fridge. Reheat them with a splash of water and dress them fresh.