SUDAN: Fava Beans Stew (Ful Medames) and (Maybe Homemade) Pita

Breakfast for dinner is getting to be a theme here, but this sounded too good to pass up. Dried or canned fava beans are sautéed with onions and spices, topped with fresh herbs, veggies, and hard boiled eggs.... a healthy way to start (or end) the day.

Traditionally the mixture is scooped up with a fresh pita. In full disclosure, I bought the pita at a nearby bakery. But I have made a version prior with great success. Unsure of which recipe, but this one from Love and Lemons looks close to what I recall.

Fava Beans Stew

1 tablespoons olive oil

½ red onion

1 medium tomato, such a Roma or small beefsteak

1 tablespoon cumin

2 ~14-ounce cans of fava beans

1 cups of vegetable stock

½ lemon

½ teaspoon black pepper

salt to taste

To serve

2 tablespoon of chopped parsley and/or cilantro

1-2 teaspoon sesame oil

3 hard boiled eggs

2-3 tablespoons diced tomato (optional)

1 tablespoon diced jalapeño (optional)

¼ cup crumbled feta (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Dice the onion, add to the hot oil, and sauté until translucent and soft. If they start to stick, add a few tablespoons of water.

2. Core and seed the tomato. Chop. After about 3-4 minutes, add to the skillet and sauté for another 3-4 minutes, until the tomato pieces darkens and starts to break down.

3. Add the cumin and cook 1 additional minute.

4. Drain each can of fava beans and place them in a sieve, run water, oven them and rinse. Add your rinsed fava beans and vegetable stock to the pan.

5. Turn heat down and heat for about 10 minutes, stirring periodically so it does not burn. Using the back of a wooden spoon, mash some of the beans in your dish. If they stick, add some more stock or water.

6. Stir in the pepper and lemon juice. Taste for salt.

7. Serve your cooked beans in a shallow bowl . Cover with fresh herbs and sesame oil. If using diced tomatoes and/or peppers, place them in the middle in the middle. Sprinkle feta over, if using.

8. Arrange slices of boiled eggs over the beans and serve with fresh pita.

#breakfastfordinner #beans #eggs #sudan

FUN FACTS:

• Sudan has more than 200 pyramids (more than in Egypt!), which were built by the ancient Nubian kingdom of Kush.

• Jacques Cousteau set up an underwater research centre located 33 feet below the surface, off the coast of Port Sudan. He started developing the site during World War II. In the 1960s it became home to five aquanauts who lived in the undersea base for 30 days.

• Sudan is part of the Great Green Wall Project. Started in 2007, this project aims to build a 4970-mile wall of trees straight across Africa to create the largest living structure on the planet.