Ful Medames (Egyptian Stewed Fava Beans)

Ful medames — slow-stewed fava beans — is the everyday breakfast of Egypt, and one of the oldest dishes still in daily use anywhere: its name turns up in connection with ancient Egypt, and it has been fuelling the country for millennia. The beans are simmered soft, mashed with garlic, cumin, lemon and olive oil, and finished with fresh tomato and herbs, then scooped up with warm bread. Cheap, filling and protein-rich, it’s the original fast-breaking food.

Soft, half-mashed, well-seasoned

Traditionally ful is simmered overnight in a tall narrow pot called a qidra and sold from carts at dawn; at home, canned fava beans warmed through get you there in half an hour. The texture is the thing to aim for — soft and a little soupy, with about half the beans mashed to a cream and half left whole for body. Cook the garlic and cumin into the warm beans rather than just sprinkling them on, then brighten everything with lemon and a generous amount of good olive oil.

A breakfast built around it

Ful is rarely eaten alone. Spoon it into a shallow bowl, flood the well with more olive oil, and pile on diced tomato and parsley — then surround it with whatever’s to hand: cucumber, pickles, olives, tahini, a sliced boiled egg, a pinch of chilli. With warm pita for scooping, it becomes the generous, build-your-own Egyptian breakfast that’s been starting the day there for thousands of years.

For more of the Egyptian table, try koshari and ta’ameya, or browse the full recipe collection.