In Morocco ful is known as bissara and consists of fava beans and split green peas (known locally as jabbana) boiled together with garlic and served with cumin and seasoning. It is particularly popular in the north of the country and is eaten during the cold winter months.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ful_medames
Time to revisit one of the very first recipes that was on this blog when I first took it live back in 2019! I had about 8-10 recipes I had developed for this project before I thought about turning it into a blog, and I revisited most of them in 2020 to add photos, but I haven’t touched this one since.
As my regular readers will know, I’ve been exploring different versions of ful medames recently. While bissara uses the same beans, it’s otherwise a pretty different dish from the other ful recipes I’ve shared. The fact that it’s even included in Wikipedia’s article on ful medames feels sort of like adding a paragraph about Tuscan white bean soup to an article on baked beans because they both use the same beans. Egypt, the country most associated with ful medames, also has its own version of bissara. But then again, ful medames literally translates as “stewed fava beans”, which pretty much describes bissara, so….
Semantics aside, I’d forgotten how delicious bissara is. For being one of the simplest recipes on the blog, it’s quite tasty. Using split, hulled fava beans eliminates most of the slightly funky flavors associated with other ful recipes, which apparently mostly come from the skins.
In the original post, I talk about how in America, you probably won’t have much choice in the size of fava beans you purchase. Six years later, I can report that at least Amazon’s listings are somewhat more extensive, and at least one of them is called “mini” in its title, although it was out of stock when I ordered. I purchased the Rani Fava Beans*, which are also small, although it’s not mentioned in the description.
I tried a different recipe for khobz*, the Moroccan flat bread traditionally served with bissara. After six years, I obviously don’t remember the previous version well, but I think both recipes are fairly similar.
My original post appears below, with a few minor grammatical edits and updated Amazon links.
Bissara, also known as Bessara and Besarah (Arabic: “بصارة“) is a soup and a bean dip in North African cuisine, prepared with dried, puréed broad beans as a primary ingredient. Additional ingredients include garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, hot red pepper, cumin, and salt. Bissara is sometimes prepared using split peas or chickpeas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bissara
Soup or Dip? It depends how much water you add! Mine started out nice and soupy, but the leftovers were thicker than hummus. I just added extra water when I reheated it and brought it back to a soupy consistency.
Bissara is a Moroccan soup/ dip that is especially popular in the winter, and usually served with Moroccan flat bread. The Egyptian version is always served as a dip and contains herbs and leafy greens.
I’d recommend splurging on a high-quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil for this. The olive oil garnish drizzled over the top really completes this dish. If you can grind your own spices fresh that will also put the flavor over the top.
Fava beans have an inedible skin, which can be removed once they are soaked. Or you can buy peeled beans.* Nancy at OpenDoorsMorocco.com learned how to make Bissara from a street vendor in Morocco named Mustapha who says that the small fava beans are better than the large ones. I suspect in much of the USA you’re not going to have much in the way of options and will have to make do with whatever you can get. Even Amazon didn’t immediately show me different size options. You can also make the soup with split pea.
Edited 11/18/19: I made bissara again, with split peas this time. Still tasty. The color is a little greener compared to the fava beans, which make it about the color of hummus.
Bissara
Prep: 15 minutes
Cooking: approximately 1 hour.
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
3 cups split dried fava beans
or
3 cups split green peas
3-4 cloves garlic
2 sprigs parsley
5 ¼ cups water
3 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons olive oil (plus more for garnish)
2 teaspoons ground cumin (plus more for garnish)
1 teaspoons salt
⅞ teaspoons sweet paprika (plus more for garnish)
¾ teaspoons black pepper
Optional:
1 black olive, for garnish
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (subbed for some of the olive oil)
½ teaspoon hot paprika
Soak the beans overnight. Drain and rinse.
Add the beans to a soup pot, along with garlic cloves, parsley and water and bring to a boil. Skim any foam or scum off the top and simmer until very soft, about one hour.
Transfer to a blender or food processor. Add olive oil and spices and puree until very smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste, and add additional water if your soup seems too thick.
Garnish with olive oil and additional ground cumin and paprika. Serve with flat bread .
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases.
I receive no compensation for mentioning any other websites or product.
Lorin cooks Legumes 