Name: Ful medames (Egyptian fava beans)
Prep time: 4 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 12 min
Ingredients: 15 oz fava beans (1 can); 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 clove garlic ((1 large or 2 small), crushed); 2 tbsp lemon juice; 2 tbsp olive oil (virgin/extra virgin); 1 dash salt; 1 dash pepper

Ful medames is a classic Egyptian dish that you will also see on the tables in other countries in the region. It’s an incredibly simple dish of warm, seasoned fava beans, but also so comforting. And if you start with canned beans, it only takes a couple of minutes to make.

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Egypt is one place that seems to be eternally on my ‘to visit’ list. I remember when I was quite young visiting Cyprus with my parents, we had the option of going by boat to either Israel or Egypt for a couple days tour.

My parents opted for Israel, which was a whirlwind tour but I still remember bits despite how young I was. We are actually heading to Israel this summer, but Egypt, unfortunately, still hasn’t got on our agenda. However I can explore through food!

Variations on a simple dish

Despite how simple it is, there are a number of ways to prepare and serve ful medames (there are various spellings in the translation, or it’s simply called ful). Some leave the beans whole, others mash them completely. Some hardly season them, others use a lot. I have gone somewhere in the middle on both.

Especially since I have cheated a little with canned beans rather than starting with dry, I think it needs a little help from seasoning. Also ‘medames’ in the name means ‘in the fire’ as that’s where they would traditionally be cooked which I imagine gave a great flavor, a bit harder to recreate. But some good oil, lemon, garlic and cumin are pretty great instead.

See just how easy it is to make in this video:

You would typically enjoy ful for breakfast with some bread and probably some pickled vegetables. Some people serve it topped with tomato or hard-boiled egg. However since it’s slightly dip-like, it is also good alongside eg hummus, baba ghanoush, labneh and other mezze dishes as an appetizer or light lunch. There are lots of options, which is probably part of why it’s so popular across the region (as you can learn more about, along with the long history, here).

How to make ful medames (the shortcut way)

Starting with canned beans, all you do is drain and rinse them, boil a few minutes then drain and mix with lemon, olive oil, cumin and garlic. Mash slightly as you mix then serve. I think it’s best served slightly warm but it works well cold as well.

Whether you eat this in the traditional style as part of breakfast or snack on it later in the day, ful medames is such an easy dish to make. Lots of beany goodness with a tasty seasoning – grab some bread and scoop it up.

Try these other dishes from the region:

Baba ghanoush (eggplant spread/dip)
Labneh (yogurt/cheese spread)
Pomegranate tabbouleh
Plus get more North African recipes and Middle Eastern recipes in the archives.

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