Fava, Yellow Split Pea Purée with Ladolemono
A creamy purée of yellow split peas long simmered, smoothed with olive oil and brightened with raw onion and lemon. Served warm, it opens the mezze as a warm and satisfying foundation.
A creamy purée of yellow split peas long simmered, smoothed with olive oil and brightened with raw onion and lemon. Served warm, it opens the mezze as a warm and satisfying foundation.
You see, I was never a man of feasts. At dusk, when I returned from the Irrigation Office, they served me this pale gold purée, simple as a clerk's day. I would pour a stream of oil, a few drops of lemon from our gardens, and a little sharp onion — and I ate it slowly, thinking of the ancient Greeks who ate the same thing, in another Alexandria. The past, sir, always tastes of poor and lasting things.
- •Yellow split peas (fava) — one large cup (base)
- •Onion — one, sliced (aromatic)
- •Olive oil — generous (binder)
- •Lemon — one (acidity)
- •Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Fava, Yellow Split Pea Purée with Ladolemono
A creamy purée of yellow split peas long simmered, smoothed with olive oil and brightened with raw onion and lemon. Served warm, it opens the mezze as a warm and satisfying foundation.
Why this dish? A humble daily dish of the Alexandrian bourgeois, fava united Greek heritage and Mediterranean frugality, which nourished Cavafy between pages in his apartment on Rue Lepsius.
You see, I was never a man of feasts. At dusk, when I returned from the Irrigation Office, they served me this pale gold purée, simple as a clerk's day. I would pour a stream of oil, a few drops of lemon from our gardens, and a little sharp onion — and I ate it slowly, thinking of the ancient Greeks who ate the same thing, in another Alexandria. The past, sir, always tastes of poor and lasting things.
Ingredients (period version)
- Yellow split peas (fava) — one large cup (base)
- Onion — one, sliced (aromatic)
- Olive oil — generous (binder)
- Lemon — one (acidity)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Yellow split peas — 250 g (base)
- Sweet onion — 1 large (aromatic)
- Extra virgin olive oil — 6 tbsp (binder and finish)
- Lemon — 1 (juice) (acidity)
- Water — 75 cl (cooking)
- Salt — 1 tsp (seasoning)
Method
- Rinse the split peas. Place them in a saucepan with the sliced onion and cold water.
- Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer for 40–50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until creamy and the peas fall apart.
- Season with salt at the end, then blend or mash until smooth.
- Whisk in half the olive oil. Transfer to a shallow dish.
- Just before serving, drizzle with remaining oil, squeeze lemon juice, and scatter finely sliced raw onion. Serve warm with bread.
How it was made : Fava (from ancient Greek, originally meaning broad bean) has been prepared since antiquity in the Aegean. In Cavafy's time, it was cooked in an earthenware pot over the home fire for hours, smoothed with a wooden spoon — no blender existed. It was an everyday food, accessible to clerks and the poor alike.
The contemporary twist : A few capers and a drizzle of Kalamata oil to evoke Greek ports; serve in a swoop on the plate, topped with a strip of candied lemon zest.
Constantine Cavafy · Charactorium
