The Fool – an Egyptian Fava Beans Chili

The staple of the Egyptian breakfast,”fool” is how it’s pronounced and it means Fava Beans. These days, making it from scratch, the dried fava beans, is not necessary. Instead, you can buy it in cans from any market or specialized Middle Eastern grocery store.

Fool Mudames

Foooooool, with that many o’s, is how you hear the street vendor singing its name as he travels the streets on his feet pushing a cart that carries his supply of the cooked beans for the residents to come out and buy. Although my family had its own preferred shop for buying Fool, I enjoyed hearing him every morning. I found it so nice to hear someone “sings” his work every day. There was a certain peace around his loud cheer, a simple man that woke up earlier than most of us and came down, loud & clear 🙂 selling us his food. A versatile dish, Fool is the food for the poor and the elite. Everyday fast food spots will always serve you sandwiches of Fool & Falafel, the Egyptian ‘burgers.’ Fool is also the big breakfast dish for a weekend meal. It’s a great source of good carbs, protein and dietary fiber. I kid you not, have it for breakfast, and you’ll skip lunch.

Serving Ideas: An appetizer, a side dish at breakfast, brunch, or lunch.

Condiments: Endless variety: fried eggs, sausage bites, tahini sauce and in this recipe, we’ll add a lot of vegetables.

Serving Size: 6-8 persons

Ingredients:
1 can prepared fava beans, puréed
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbs white vinegar
2 Tbs olive oil
3 minced garlic
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
A variety of vegetables, one of each to taste: bell peppers in different colors, tomatoes & a red onions
6 Pita Bread, quartered.

Directions:
~ Over medium heat, add the fava beans in a saucepan with the water, lemon, vinegar, oil, & garlic and bring to a boil.
~ Add all the spices. Mix well and let it simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
~ Remove from heat and let it cool.


~ Cut all the vegetables in uniform shapes, like 1/2 inch or 3 cm squares.


~ Serve the fool on a platter. Then decorate with your vegetables.
~ Add a final drizzle of olive oil and the pita bread on the side.
~ For a nice presentation, mix all ingredients at the table.

~ Bel Hana ~

Best Places to Try this Dish in Egypt:
~ Street carts in your neighborhood.
~ Sandwiches from fastfood spots or restaurants: Gad, Felfela

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