Foul is a fava bean cooked with throughout the Middle East. In Egypt they make felafals with it called ta’amiya and in Iraq they cook them with vine leaves and lamb. In Palestine we crush them down over a gentle heat to serve at breakfast. This was particularly important back when most Palestinians lived off the land and there was lots of manual work to be done in the day. Falahi simply means ‘peasant’ as in someone who lives off the land, a farmer.
If you have tried my now famous brunch foul, this one is even simpler. Its deconstructed, and not in a pretentious new-age way, but so that you can choose how much of each thing you want on your plate. Recently, we have been eating this one a lot more in my house.
I like to think of farmers sitting under a pomegranate tree eating this dish with very sweet tea preparing for a day under the sun.
A purist will tell you that the beans for this dish should be crushed and eaten cold-the Palestinian way-, but I do warm them up a bit in a pan as that’s how I like them best. we put it out on the breakfast table with hummus, yoghurt, and fried halloumi.
ingredients
1 can foul beans
Extra virgin olive oil
3 plump vine ripened tomatoes
7 cloves garlic
Lemon
Salt and pepper
method
- empty the whole can (beans and water) into a frying pan with the smallest drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper
- refill the can with water and add half of that and keep the rest if you need to add more if it dries out
- as it heats up use a potato masher to crush the beans into a course texture (not too smooth)
- meanwhile, chop the garlic and lemons and keep them in separate bowls
- once warmed to how you like it, add the foul to a serving bowl and serve along with the other bowls
- let everyone assemble the different parts into their plates – foul, garlic, tomato, olive oil, squeezed lemon- so that they can scoop it up with warm pita bread
The Olive Tree Kitchen 