Ful Medames with Berberé

Ful medames has been a favorite of mine from my first samplings, the very first on a holiday in Egypt and the second during a visit to friends in Tigray in northern Ethiopia. I fell in love with both versions, and woke up recently with a craving for Ethiopian-style ful. What follows is my own recipe based on my (admittedly very rusty!) memory, what I had in the pantry, and it being a fast day when I made it.

If you want to make a non-fasting version, I highly recommend substituting nit'ir qibé - a spiced clarified butter from Ethiopia - or butter for the olive oil and hard boiling an egg to slice in half and serve on top of the finished dish. I had my ful with some paratha because that's what I had on hand in the freezer, but baguette or injera would do beautifully as well!

Although the finished product doesn't look like a lot, it is very filling and ended up being two breakfasts for me (and as you know, I like to eat!). I hope you enjoy this little taste of Ethiopia and northern Africa as much as I do!

Ful Medames with Berberé

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of olive oil, nit'ir qibé, or butter

1/2 of a red onion (chopped)

4 cloves of garlic (crushed)

2 tablespoons of berberé

Ginger* (to taste)

Parsley** (to taste)

4 tablespoons of salsa***

3/4 cups of water or chicken stock

1 15-ounce can of fava beans

Salt (to taste)

1 hard-boiled egg (if desired)

*I used a good sprinkling of powdered ginger because that's what I had on hand, but a bit of grated fresh ginger would be much better!

**I don't think this features in North African or Ethiopian ful medames, but I liked the bit of flavor it added.

***Again, not authentic! But I was overdue for a proper grocery shop and the salsa was right there in the fridge. (Also, big time savings with not having to chop a small tomato! Haha...)

Directions

1) Heat the oil or butter in a medium-sized pan over medium heat and sauté the onion until translucent, then add the garlic and continue sautéing.

2) Once the garlic has begun to brown a little add the berberé, ginger, and parsley and sauté for a couple more minutes. A paste should begin to form pretty quickly, so be sure to keep moving everything around so that it doesn't burn!

3) Add the salsa and dissolve the paste before adding the water or stock and fava beans.

4) Wait until the ful begins to bubble a little - stirring all the while to keep the bottom from burning - before covering, reducing the heat to low, and cooking for 5 or 10 minutes (still stirring occasionally). I mashed the beans a bit as I was stirring, but for a smoother texture put the finished product in a blender for a good pulse!

5) Check the taste, add salt as needed, and enjoy as is or topped with a halved hard-boiled egg and some baguette, injera, pita, et cetera. Enjoy!