Egyptian Ful Medames Braised Spiced Fava Beans with Matbucha and Lavash

Ful medames, also called mudammas or simply fūl, is a delicious stew of braised fava beans made with olive oil, spices, garlic, onion, and lemon juice. The dish is traditionally enjoyed for breakfast in Egypt and many other Middle Eastern countries. 

Matbucha is a sauce popular around the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, made with red peppers, tomatoes, and aromatics cooked in olive oil. Matbucha can be served at room temperature or warm as part of mezze. Put Ful medames and matbucha together and you get a match made in heaven! Topped with shallots, parsley, a lemon wedge, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and grilled lavash, and you have a fabulous plant-forward breakfast, main course, or shared appetizer that will spice up your menu. Find the recipe and printable recipe PDF below! 

 
 

Yield: 8 portions

Method

  1. For the Spiced Fava Beans: Soak beans overnight in cold water.  Drain the beans and cover them with new water by 2 inches in a medium sauce pot. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and garlic.

  2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until very tender about 2- 2 ½ hours.

  3. When tender, and the mixture is slightly soupy in consistency, mash some of the beans leaving about ½ of the beans whole.

  4. Add the olive oil, cumin, aleppo chili, salt, pepper.

  5. Simmer until liquid is reduced, about 10-15 minutes.  Mix in the lemon juice.

  6. For the Lavash: Lightly grill the lavash and then tear into pieces.

  7. To Assemble: Serve topped with shallot rings, parsley, lemon wedges, matbucha, and grilled lavash.

Ingredients

Spiced Fava Beans

3 cups dry broad beans or fava beans

1 ea. bay leaf

2 ea. thyme sprigs

¼ cup garlic cloves, crushed

¼ extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. Aleppo chili

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

½ cup lemon juice

1 cup Matbucha (find the recipe here)

½ cup shallot, peeled, sliced thinly into rings

¼ cup parsley, chopped

8 ea. lemon wedges

8 ea. lavash

This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service,
thanks to the generous support of the International Olive Council.