Middle Eastern Fava Bean Stew Food

FOUL MUDAMMAS (EGYPTIAN FAVA BEANS)

Steps:

• In a cast iron skillet or saucepan, add the fava beans and ½ cup water. Warm over medium-high heat. Season with kosher salt and cumin. Use a potato masher or fork to mash the fava beans.
• In a morter and pestle, add the hot peppers and garlic. Smash. Add in juice of one lemon and stir to combine.
• Pour the garlic and hot pepper sauce over the fava beans. Add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Top with chopped parsley, diced tomatoes, and a few slices of hot peppers, if you like.
• Serve with pita bread, sliced veggies and olives.

MOROCCAN FAVA BEAN AND VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Skin the fresh favas: bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Drop the shelled fava beans into the boiling water and boil 5 minutes. Drain and transfer immediately to the cold water. Allow the beans to cool for several minutes, then slip off their skins by pinching off the eye of the skin and squeezing gently. Hold several beans in one hand and use your other thumb and forefinger to pinch off the eyes, have a bowl for the shelled favas close at hand and this will not take very long.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and add the leeks, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes, and add the turnips, potatoes, favas, water or stock, salt and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender. Remove and discard the bouquet garni.
• Purée the soup using a hand blender or a food mill, or working in batches, in a blender, making sure that you place a towel over the top of the blender and remove the inner part of the lid to avoid hot splashes. Return to the pot, add the pepper, turmeric and chopped cilantro and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring often, for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve in wide soup bowls, garnished with cilantro leaves and with a drizzle of olive oil over each serving.

FUUL (SOMALI-STYLE FAVA BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• In a medium pot or deep skillet over medium heat, warm up the olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, add the onion and stir. Let the onions cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and almost translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Once the onions have cooked, add in the garlic and let it cook until it softens, about 2 minutes. Add the roughly chopped tomatoes and let them cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes or until they start to break down. Add the salt.
• While the tomato mixture cooks, prepare the xawaash mix: Add the cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon and cardamom to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat, stirring continuously, for 1 minute or until the spice mix becomes fragrant.
• Add the xawaash mix to the simmering tomato and onions. While the tomatoes finish cooking, add the rinsed fava beans to a medium bowl and use a pestle to mash them until there are almost no whole beans left. Stir the mashed beans into the tomatoes.
• Stir in the tomato sauce, 1 cup of water and the chopped cilantro leaves into the bean and tomato mixture. Cover the pan and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in up to an additional ⅓ cup of water if the stew gets too thick.
• Serve the fuul with anjero, if desired. Leftovers keep for about a week in the refrigerator.

BAGHALI GHATOGH (FAVA BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• Add the oil and garlic to a medium pot, then set it over medium-low heat. Cook the garlic, stirring often, until fragrant and cooked, taking care not to burn it, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the turmeric, stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans, dill, 1½ teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Stir gently so the beans don't break, and cook for about 3 minutes, just so the flavors meld and no longer taste raw.
• Increase the heat to medium-high, add enough water to cover the beans, about 2 cups (or more as needed, if you're using cannellini beans, which absorb more liquid), and bring to a gentle boil. Partially cover with the lid barely ajar, reduce the heat to medium-low, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, but still maintain their shape (no mushy beans please), and the flavors have come to life, about 12 minutes.
• Taste the beans and liquid for salt and pepper, and adjust as needed. The stew should be juicy enough to serve over rice, but if it seems too liquidy, remove the lid and cook a little longer to reduce it, keeping in mind that the eggs will also thicken it up. Add a little more water if the stew is too thick.
• Increase the heat to medium and add the eggs one at a time. If poaching whole eggs, use 4 eggs and make individual wells in the stew before adding each egg. Cook, uncovered, until the whites set and the yolk is cooked to desired consistency, 3 to 5 minutes. (Alternately, you can stir the eggs in: Add 3 eggs, then run a spoon through each egg to break them apart and cook, slightly covered, until the eggs set, about 3 to 5 minutes.) Taste, add more water if the stew is too thick, adjust seasoning and serve.

MIDDLE EASTERN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Brown half the beef in 2 teaspoons olive oil, and repeat with remaining beef and more oil.
• Throw beef and the remaining ingredients into crock pot on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. My sister didn't have allspice when she made it, so she used cumin, which is fab!

MIDDLE EASTERN FAVA BEAN STEW

Steps:

• Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a large pot.
• Add onions and garlic.
• Cook slowly over low heat until onions are transparent about 10 minutes.
• Push onions and garlic to the side and add anchovies to the pot.
• Cook anchovies until they soften, mashing them as they soften.
• Add in to the onion/garlic mixture.
• Add butternut squash, carrots, bell pepper, frozen peas and a pinch of salt.
• Stir and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
• Pour in the stock.
• Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute.
• Stir in the drained FAVA beans, diced tomatoes, drained, tomato paste, bay leaf and Harissa paste.
• Add brown sugar and pomegranate molasses.
• Stir and bring back to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 1 1/2 hours or pour into crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.