This blog's purpose is to help make more information available to people to make choices that support their health. Plant-based nutrition is shown to have many health benefits, and I hope to provide ways to make it more affordable.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Ful Medammes with Greens

I ended up with three cans of fava beans, which I normally wouldn't be drawn towards, but I decided to make a healthy dish based on the Middle Eastern fava bean-based dish called ful medammes or foul mudammas (or other variations of spellings).  The dish I had actually had before contains a sort of tomato sauce, but the one I made this time was inspired by one I've seen at another local restaurant, which I haven't tried since I usually can't pass up the falafel sandwich (no, it doesn't meet the guidelines I usually go by, but you can't always be perfect).  I've made other beans-and-greens dishes with tahini and lemon juice that are similar, so the spices and the beans could be varied.  I'd try some chickpeas.

I cut up a clove of garlic and sauteed it in a pan, added a little bit of water and 1 can of fava beans as the garlic began to brown, then added cumin, paprika, and pepper, and a dash of cayenne powder.  I let that cook for a while.  As far as I know, these types of dishes do not contain any greens (aside from parsley sometimes?), but I decided to chop up some kale, and I added that, making sure I kept the pan moist with water.  As that cooked for a bit, I juiced a half of a lemon.  I let the greens cook just till they're well-wilted but still vibrantly green.  Then I drizzled some tahini (maybe about a tablespoon) over the food.  Lastly, I poured the lemon juice on and mixed it well.  Oh, and I sprinkled on a little salt to taste. 

This was so good, I had it again the next day (which was today), and plan to make this dish for a potluck or another opportunity to share this dish.

Fava beans, if my memory serves, are pretty cheap at middle eastern markets, and would be even cheaper if you cooked them from the dried beans.  They vary in size though, and the ones I've seen dried are rather large, so expect that they'll take longer to make than other beans like pintos.  I have always felt that favas would make a good bean burger, but I never make bean burgers.  My point is more that it has a distinct flavor that I think is really good and memorable.

No comments:

Post a Comment