Egyptian Ful Medames (Vegan)

I came across this dish whilst researching what to do with a bag of dried fava beans I found at the back of my cupboard. It's the national dish of Egypt (although it's eaten all over north Africa and the Middle East) and it's a delicious spicy stew, sort of like an Indian dal.

Fava beans, also known as broad beans, are the traditional ingredient but you could swap them out for any pulse - think red lentils, split peas, or even chickpeas or beans which could be blended at the end of cooking for a smoother texture. I served mine as is often the case in Egypt - with a runny yolked fried egg and good bread for scooping - but you could serve your with rice or even on its own.

Egyptian Ful Medames (Vegan)
Serves 6

500g whole dried fava beans
oil
1 garlic clove
1 red onion 4
Juice of 2 lemons
1 small hot chilli
¼ tsp cayenne
3 tsp cumin
500ml tomato passata
3 tsp tomato puree
2 tsp sugar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the beans well with cold water then soak overnight. Drain, place in a pan, cover with plenty of water and cook for around one hour until tender.

Chop the onion and garlic until very fine, then fry gently in a little oil. Add the lemon juice, chilli and spices to the pan with a little more oil. Cook for a few minutes then add the passata and tomato puree plus 100ml of water, which you can first use to wash the remains of the passata out of the jar or packet it came in.

Cook for a few more minutes and then add the cooked beans. Continue to simmer and taste – adjust seasoning with sugar, salt and pepper. The beans will be ready as soon as the seasoning is balanced, although you can leave them to reduce if you would prefer a thicker sauce.

Eat straight away or allow it to cool, divide into portions and freeze. It's delicious eaten with naan bread and a fried egg.