Ful Medames with Cumin, Lemon and Tomato
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen.
Canned fava beans simmered in garlic and cumin oil, half-mashed into a thick stew, brightened with lemon and topped with tomato, onion and parsley.
Based on the listed ingredients, none of the 14 major EU allergens. Always check product labels.
Method
- 1
Bloom garlic and cumin. Put the 3 tbsp oil, garlic and cumin in the saucepan over medium heat and warm for about 2 min. Pull it from the heat if the garlic starts to colour; you want it fragrant, not brown, which would turn it bitter.
- 2
Simmer the beans. Add the beans, 300 ml water, salt and pepper and simmer for 8-10 min, stirring now and then. The liquid will thicken slightly as the beans soften and release starch.
- 3
Mash half. Off the heat, roughly mash about half the beans with the masher and leave the rest whole for texture. The result should look like a thick, spoonable stew. Stir in the lemon juice and taste.
- 4
Top and serve. Spoon into a shallow bowl and scatter over the tomato, onion and parsley. Finish with a generous swirl of olive oil and serve with lemon wedges.
Storage
Refrigerate the beans (without toppings) covered up to 3 days. Reheat with a splash of water until piping hot (74 °C), then add fresh toppings. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Source of protein: 3.5 g protein per 100 kcal, about 14% of energy (needs ≥ 12%)
- Low saturated fat: 1.2 g saturated fat per 100 g, 7.3% of energy (limits ≤ 1.5 g and ≤ 10%)
- Low sugars: 1.2 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
- Source of fibre: 2.5 g fibre per 100 kcal (needs ≥ 1.5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 147 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0.2 g per serving
0.4 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0.8 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- wooden spoon
- potato masher
- sieve
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 222 kcal |
| Protein | 7.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 20.2 g |
| of which sugars | 1.7 g |
| of which free sugars | 0.2 g |
| Fat | 13.1 g |
| of which saturates | 1.8 g |
| Fibre | 5.6 g |
| Salt | 1.8 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.5 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
