Recipes › Broad Beans › Egyptian Ful Medames with Broad Beans
Egyptian Ful Medames with Broad Beans
Ful medames is one of the oldest dishes in the world and for good reason — it is deeply nourishing, endlessly satisfying and completely delicious. This version uses fresh British broad beans in place of dried fava beans, which gives the dish a lighter, brighter character while keeping all the warmth of the traditional spicing. Eat it for breakfast, lunch or a simple supper with warm flatbreads, pickles and a good drizzle of olive oil.
Broad Beans is usually ready June to August. More broad beans recipes, or see what to sow this month where you are.
Ingredients
- 1500 g broad beans, podded then double-podded (weight in pod)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely grated or crushed to a paste
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 lemon, juiced
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 300 g tomatoes, finely diced
- 25 g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- 8 warm flatbreads or pitta
Contains: cereals gluten, sesame.
Method
- Pod the broad beans from their outer pods. Blanch in boiling salted water for 3 minutes, drain and cool in cold water. Slip off the grey outer skins to reveal the bright green beans. You should have roughly 380–420g of double-podded beans.About 15 min
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a wide frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic paste and cook for 90 seconds, stirring constantly — it should become golden and very fragrant but must not burn. Add the cumin and ground coriander and stir for a further 30 seconds.About 3 min
- Add the double-podded broad beans to the pan along with 150ml of water. Stir well, then cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes. Use the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher to roughly crush about half the beans — you want a chunky, textured consistency, not a smooth purée.About 10 min
- Remove from the heat and stir in the tahini, the juice of both lemons and 2 more tablespoons of olive oil. Season generously with flaky salt. The mixture should be loose but not watery — if it looks too thick, add a splash more water.About 2 min
- Spoon into shallow bowls. Top with the diced tomatoes, chopped parsley and sliced chilli if using. Finish with a generous drizzle of the remaining olive oil. Serve hot with warm flatbreads or pitta for scooping.
Tips
- The garlic in ful medames does a lot of work — do not rush it. Cook it properly in the oil until golden and you will get a warmth and sweetness that raw garlic cannot give.
- If your beans are very young and tender (picked early June), you can skip the blanching and double-podding and simply cook the single-podded beans directly in the pan — the skins soften nicely with the longer cook.
- Ful is traditionally eaten with everything piled separately on the plate so people can mix as they like — serve the tomatoes, parsley and chilli in small bowls alongside rather than mixed in.
Ring the changes
- Stir through 2 tablespoons of harissa with the tahini for a smoky, spiced version that is excellent for a more substantial lunch.
- Top each bowl with a soft-poached egg for extra richness — it turns this into a very complete breakfast or brunch and the runny yolk works beautifully with the spiced beans.
Keeping it
The broad bean base keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water, stirring often. Add the fresh toppings only when serving. Not suitable for freezing.
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