Søren
237 posts
Feb 01, 2007
5:25 AM
|
I made another recipe from the latest Newsletter yesterday - the Egyptian Ful Medames bean dish. Unlike Bryanna, I was able to get a bag of the big brown beans which are traditional for the recipe. I was generous with the seasoning - without making it hot-hot - and the flavor was nice. I tasted the sauce often as it cooked, and it was delish. Unfortunately we found the beans themselves unappealing - even when they were thoroughly cooked after 3 hours and very tender - their outer skin remained tough and seemed to prevent the beans from absorbing the flavor. Next time I'll use ordinary brown beans as Bryanna did 'cause it deserves another try. We had it with steamed broccoli and pita btw.
Søren
|
Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1988 posts
Feb 01, 2007
6:03 AM
|
Oh, I hope you do, because it is very good! When I made it with the small red beans, they were nice and soft without falling apart. I guess you can use the Swedish brown beans I have heard about?
Last Edited on 1-Feb-2007 6:03 AM
|
Søren
238 posts
Feb 01, 2007
6:36 AM
|
Just checked this site, and yes, I'd definitely use those Swedish brown beans next time. They're readily available here - I had no idea they were actually of Swedish origin!!!
You can also see the fava beans I used - and you can also read on that site that the skin is waxy and should have been removed. No mention of that on the bag I bought, though (grrr ...)
Søren
Last Edited on 1-Feb-2007 6:42 AM
|
kourtney
171 posts
Feb 01, 2007
8:07 AM
|
Did you peel them after soaking them? I've made felafel with the fava beans you described, and the recipe called for peeling them after soaking them. It's very easy -- you just make a small slit in the skin and it slips right off. I composted the ones whose skin wouldn't slip off since they didn't seem to have hydrated properly either. (This was maybe 5% of the beans, so it wasn't much to throw away.)
|
Søren
239 posts
Feb 01, 2007
10:19 AM
|
No, I didn't peel them as I had no idea I was supposed to ... so I simply boiled them and added onion and spices as the recipe devised.
|
Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1989 posts
Feb 01, 2007
10:20 AM
|
I find that the fava beans kind of disintegrate when cooked after peeling, and the peeling is a pain in the neck! The small red beans (or brown or pink) are better, I think, and a small brown bean is also used in Egypt, so it is authentic.
|
