Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Garlic breath never tasted so good...

Foul Mudammas
Fava beans with fresh garlic, lemon, and olive oil. Topped with a tomato and cucumber relish and a generous sprinkle of sumac



Let me just say - DSLRs with macro lenses do amazing things.

Foul Mudammas is truly one of my favorite foods - strong, bright flavors and extremely healthy. The only downsides: horrendous garlic breath (the garlic is traditionally raw) and you feel stuffed for over four hours (could be an upside on a diet).

It's a traditional breakfast dish in Lebanon and has variants all over the Middle East. They don't eat it in Afghanistan, but my father was introduced to it while studying in Beirut and got me obsessed with it.

My dirty little secret: I almost always use canned beans - you never know when you want it the night before!

Recipe:

1 can cooked fava beans (or "foul mudammas" in a can)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 Lemon, juice
3 tbps Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt

To serve:
Fresh naan
Sumac and/or Minced parsley

Heat the beans, then remove from heat and mix in all the other ingredients. Done!