flipFul Medames of the Early Morning
Ful Medames of the Early Morning
Why this dish? Before descending into the cliff tombs, Winlock's entire team gathered around the pot of fava beans that had simmered all night on the embers: the universal fuel of the Egyptian dig, eaten by fellah and museum director alike.
Brown fava beans long-simmered, roughly mashed, and seasoned with cumin, garlic, lemon, and oil, eaten warm with flatbread used as an implement.
You see, before the sun bit the cliff and we descended into the dust of the tombs, it was the pot of fava beans that brought us all together. We'd put it on the embers at dusk and forget it until dawn — slow heat does all the work, just as patience makes archaeology. I'd squeeze in a lemon from the garden, a shower of toasted cumin, a drizzle of oil, and we'd break bread together, the reïs and I, from the same bowl. I assure you, no banquet on Fifth Avenue ever tasted as good as those beans at daybreak.
- •Dried brown fava beans (ful) — a good bowlful (nourishing base)
- •Garlic — a few cloves (aromatic)
- •Ground cumin — to taste (signature)
- •Lemon — 1 or 2 (acidity)
- •Oil (olive or seed) — a drizzle (fat binder)
- •Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ful Medames of the Early Morning
Brown fava beans long-simmered, roughly mashed, and seasoned with cumin, garlic, lemon, and oil, eaten warm with flatbread used as an implement.
Why this dish? Before descending into the cliff tombs, Winlock's entire team gathered around the pot of fava beans that had simmered all night on the embers: the universal fuel of the Egyptian dig, eaten by fellah and museum director alike.
You see, before the sun bit the cliff and we descended into the dust of the tombs, it was the pot of fava beans that brought us all together. We'd put it on the embers at dusk and forget it until dawn — slow heat does all the work, just as patience makes archaeology. I'd squeeze in a lemon from the garden, a shower of toasted cumin, a drizzle of oil, and we'd break bread together, the reïs and I, from the same bowl. I assure you, no banquet on Fifth Avenue ever tasted as good as those beans at daybreak.
Ingredients (period version)
- Dried brown fava beans (ful) — a good bowlful (nourishing base)
- Garlic — a few cloves (aromatic)
- Ground cumin — to taste (signature)
- Lemon — 1 or 2 (acidity)
- Oil (olive or seed) — a drizzle (fat binder)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Brown fava beans (ful medames), canned or dried — 400 g drained (or 200 g dried, soaked 12 h) (base)
- Crushed garlic — 2 cloves (aromatic)
- Ground cumin — 1 tsp (signature)
- Lemon juice — 1 lemon (acidity)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp (binder)
- Salt, flat-leaf parsley — to taste (finish)
Method
- If using dried beans: soak 12 hours, then cook 1 to 1.5 hours until tender; otherwise, heat canned beans with a little water.
- Roughly mash half the beans with a fork for a rustic texture.
- Off the heat, stir in crushed garlic, cumin, and salt.
- To serve, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, sprinkle with parsley.
- Serve warm with hot flatbread.
How it was made : Ful medames is one of Egypt's oldest dishes: overnight cooking over very low heat (once in jars buried near embers, or at village bakers who rented out the residual heat of their ovens) was the norm. It was the food of the people, shared on every Nile dig site.
The contemporary twist : Served in a bowl with a soft-boiled egg, toasted cumin seeds, and a drizzle of mild chili oil: the 'digger's ful' brunch version.
Sources : Claudia Roden, A Book of Middle Eastern Food
Herbert Winlock · Charactorium
