The Recipe Room

Ful medammis is a very typical Egyptian dish made with green fava beans.  In fact, it’s so common that it’s often referred to as the national dish of Egypt.

Although it’s quite simple to make, it does take a bit of time, mostly due to the soaking and cooking of the dried fava beans.  If time is an issue, you can go ahead and use the canned variety; it won’t be quite as yummy or authentic, but it’s more than good enough in a pinch.

The fun thing about this dish is that rather than completely finishing the preparation yourself, you put the different garnishes on the table and let your guests garnish their own however they wish.  This also makes it a lot more fun for kids and a perk for eating their veggies.  Of course, if you prefer, you can mix in the garnishes yourself before serving.

What you’re going to need:

• 2 eggs
• 450g dried fava beans
• 50g lentils
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
• 60g fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 lemons, cut into wedges
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

What you have to do:

1. Soak the fava beans and lentils overnight in abundant water with a pinch of salt.
2. Place the beans in a large saucepan and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, or until the beans are nice and tender.  Drain the leftover water.
3. Place the eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water.
4. Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil.
5. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Drain the excess water from the saucepan and run cold water over the eggs until they are cool.
7. Peel the cooked eggs, cut them into halves, and set aside.
8. Serve beans in individual bowls.
9. Place the eggs, garlic, parsley, lemons, tomatoes, olive oil, and salt and pepper on table and allow diners to garnish and season as they like.

 

Preparation Time:  20 minutes plus overnight soaking of the beans

Cooking Time: 1-2 hours

Serves:  4

Difficulty: Easy

Note: The main focus of this dish is the fava beans, but the lentils add a nice touch. For more lentil recipes, try this tangy red daal.

With winter now in full swing, what better way to warm up after coming in from the cold than with a piping hot dish of red split lentils and potatoes, fresh out of the oven?! Although I also enjoy a hearty bowl of lentil soup, this Red Lentil and Potato Bake, seasoned with thyme and rosemary, is just the thing to warm your bones and satisfy your belly, all without putting too much of a dent in your pocketbook!

As with most recipes that use potatoes, you’ll notice that I suggest just washing them, not peeling.  This a trick I picked up from a Canadian friend who assures me that’s the only way to eat potatoes, and the truth is, I have to agree with her!  Not only do the potato skins add depth of flavour to the dish, they also contain lots of nutrients and help to keep the nutrients of the potatoes themselves from leaking out as they tend to do during cooking.

What you’re going to need:

• 3 medium potatoes, washed, sliced or chopped
• 500g dried split red lentils
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 litre of water

What you have to do:

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
3. Add the onions and garlic and fry for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
4. Add the celery and continue frying and stirring for another minute.
5. Add the tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper for 2 more minutes.
6. Add the lentils and the water and bring to a boil.
7. Cover the frying pan and cook for 5 minutes.
8. Place all the ingredients except for the potatoes in a 2 litre baking dish.
9. Carefully lay the potatoes on top of the lentil mixture with their edges overlapping.
10. Splash a little olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle on a little thyme and salt.
11. Bake in the preheated oven on the bottom shelf for 70 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
12. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Prep Time:  10 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Difficulty: Easy