Ful Medames

It is thought this dish dates back to Pharaonic Egypt, and it is now a staple for breakfast in large parts of the North East Africa and the Arabian peninsula. I fell in love with ful in Yemen, where we were served it most mornings along with their wonderful freshly baked flat bread. 

 Ful in Yemen, served with bread for scooping up. Cutlery was rarely provided. 

Some people like it completely mashed up with the consistency of mushy peas or even a smooth mash, but if I am not serving it with bread I prefer it with some of the beans retaining a little of their original shape, just for some texture. I am not sure how authentic the fried egg is, but who cares...

Husband said he wasn't convinced about beans for breakfast, until I reminded him he loves baked beans with his fry-up. “But that's baked beans, they're OK” was his reply. Ugh, you can't win...

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

1 cup dried fava beans, soaked overnight

2 tsp bouillon powder

2 small onions, chopped

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

handfal flat parsley leaves, chopped

2 eggs

You need to really start this two days before you want to eat it, soaking the beans overnight. The next day, drain and rinse the beans and cook them in a large saucepan with water and bouillon powder for an hour until the beans are nice and soft. Drain and retain the cooking liquid. You can of course get up early on the morning you want to eat this to cook the beans, but I am so not a morning person that I prefer to cook them the day before. I suppose you could leave them overnight in a slow cooker.

Heat a pan with Fry Light and sauté the onions and cumin seeds until soft. Add the cooked beans and mash using a potato masher; or if you want a smoother consistency, use a hand held blender. Add enough of the cooking liquid or water to get a consistency of porridge. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine. Leave on a low heat while you fry the eggs.

Stir the parsley in to the bean mixture, dish out on to two plates, and top with a fried egg.