2 lbs/1 kg young fresh faba beans with pods, or
2 lbs/1 kg fresh shelled beans
2 oz/50 g margarine or butter
1 onion finely chopped (optional)
2 oz/50 g flour
1 pint/500 ml milk, bean water or stock
¼ tsp. dried savory or fresh sprigs
1 tsp. Marmite or yeast extract
salt

Cook the beans in boiling salted water until just tender, then drain. Melt the margarine or butter in another saucepan, add the peeled and chopped onion, if used, and stew until golden brown. Add the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring all the time, then gradually add the milk, bean water or stock; also add the savory, Marmite or yeast extract and salt. Add the beans and stir until evenly covered with the sauce, heat up and serve.

1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
oil
1 lb/½ kg faba beans, fresh
2 tbsp. coriander or parsley, chopped
salt
8 fl oz/200 g ml water

Brown onion and garlic in oil. Add faba beans, coriander, salt and water. Cook until the beans are tender. Drain and serve.

Serves 4

8 oz/200 g large, dried faba beans
6 oz/150 g burghul (ground wheat)
4 fl oz/100 ml olive oil
2 tbsp. tomato purée
½ tsp. chilli pepper
3 (or more) garlic cloves
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. powdered cumin
salt
1 lemon

Soak the beans overnight in cold water. The following day mix the burghul, oil and beans together and put into a saucepan with enough water to well cover. Cook for about an hour and a half. Add the tomato purée, chilli pepper and the whole cloves of garlic. Cook for a little longer. When the beans are tender, crush them with a wooden spoon. Add the hot sauce and the powdered cumin. Mix, add salt to taste and the juice of the lemon. Serve hot.

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 lbs/1 kg faba beans, shelled
salt and pepper
3 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 garlic clove
1 tsp. basil

Fry the sliced onion in oil, add the beans and stir for a couple of minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover the saucepan and simmer for about 20 minutes until the beans are tender.

Serves 8.

This is 'national' dish of Egypt but it is also common in other Middle Eastern Countries.

1½ lbs/¾ kg faba beans, small, dry and soaked overnight
1½ tbsp. ground cumin
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

Garnish:
4 hard-boiled eggs (warm)
juice of 2 lemons
4 onions, chopped
chopped tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

Cover the soaked and drained beans with about 2 inches/5 cm of water, add the cumin, garlic and some pepper and bake in the oven at 300°F for about 3 hours until the beans are soft and the sauce is thickened.

Serve garnished with crumbled eggs, lemon juice, chopped tomatoes, olive oil and red pepper. Eat with Arabic (or Pita) bread.

Can also be eaten cold with youghurt and french dressing.

2 lbs/1 kg young fresh faba beans
1 large onion, chopped finely
½ tsp. dried sage
¼ tsp. Marmite or yeast extract
3 tbsp. whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. milk
2 egg yolks, well beaten
2 tbsp. grated cheese
2 oz/50 fresh whole wheat brea-crumbs.

Cook the beans, onions and sage in a little water. When the beans are nearly cooked add the Marmite or yeast extract to remaining water. Turn into a greased pie dish.
Mix the flour with milk (until it is smooth), add the egg yolks and cheese  and stir well. Spread the mixture over the beans, sprinkle the breadcrumbs over and bake in a moderate oven (350°F) for 30 minutes.

Serves 4

2 lb/1 kg faba beans, shelled
1 oz/25 g butter

Poulette sauce:
3 open mushrooms
1 small onion
½ bay leaf
¾ pint/300 ml chicken stock
½ oz/15 g butter
½ oz/15 g plain flour
2 eggs yolks
juice ½ lemon
3 tbsp. double cream
parsley, chopped

Cook beans in boiling salted water until tender. Toss in the melted butter and keep warm.

Sauce: Finely chop the mushrooms and onion and put into a saucepan with a bay leaf and the stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Strain, reserve the cooking liquor.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring all the time. Remove from heat, and blend  in the reserved cooking liquor. Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring. Simmer for a few minutes.
Mix together the egg yolks, lemon juice, cream and parsley, Pour on a little of the sauce from the saucepan, stirring all the time, add this mixture to the sauce remaining in the pan and stir over a low heat for 1-2 minutes. Do not allow to boil.

Pour sauce over beans. Garnish with parsley sprigs.

1½ lbs/¾ kg large faba beans, fresh
1 large carrot
1 onion
2 sticks celery
1 leek
2 oz/50 g fat
½ pint/250 ml stock or water
1 tbsp. dried savory or equivalent fresh

Cook the shelled beans (or if the beans are young slice them in their pods) in boiling, salted water until just tender. Peel and slice the carrot and onion, also slice the celery. Wash and cut the leeks into ½ inch/1½ cm pieces. Melt ½ oz/15 g of fat in a saucepan and stew the vegetables except the beans for about 5 minutes. Add no water. Grease a casserole and put in alternate layers of beans and other vegetables, finishing with beans and putting the remaining fat between the layers. Mix the stock with the savory and a little salt and pour over the vegetables. Cook in a hot oven (400°F) for 35 minutes.

1 lb/½ kg boiled faba beans
salt and pepper
2 egg yolks
1 oz/25 g butter
2 oz/50 white breadcrumbs
2 tbsp. single cream

Pound the boiled beans to a paste in a mortar or blend in a liquidizer. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add the egg yolks, softened butter and the breadcrumbs soaked in the cream. Tie the mixture in a floured cloth, place in boiling for 30 minutes. Squeeze out the water by pressing the cloth, and serve.
Alternatively, bake the pudding for 30 minutes in a moderate oven at 350°F.

1 lb/½ kg small faba beans, dried
4 oz/100g mulukhiyah, dried (jews
mallow)
salt and red pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
olive oil (or any other cooking oil)

Garnish:
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
coriander or parsley, chopped

Soak the beans overnight. The following day remove the skins (if you have not been able to buy skinned faba beans). Put into a saucepan with water to cover and bring to the boil and cook until the beans are well done. Sieve or grind with a blender and return to the saucepan. Grind or rub the dried jews mallow in your hand until it is powdered. Add this and the salt and pepper to the puréed beans and cook for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile fry the crushed garlic in a generous amount of oil (preferably olive oil) and stir into the mixture.

Serve hot or cold. A garnish of onion, garlic and coriander or parsley, which has previously been fried together in oil, can be sprinkled over the dish before serving.

2 medium-size onions, sliced
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb/½ kg shelled fresh faba beans
3 tbsp. chopped parsley
2 tsp. chopped fennel tops
3 black peppercorns
salt and pepper
¼ pint/150 ml water
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Peel and finely slice the onions. Put in a pan with the oil and the beans, half the chopped parsley, the fennel tops, peppercorns, salt and pepper. Mix well together, then add the water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to very low, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the beans are just tender. Remove pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice and remaining chopped parsley. Serve hot or cold.

1 lb/½ kg young beans with pods or
1 lb shelled beans
1 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 tbsp. flour
1 pint/50 ml milk or ½ pint milk + ½ pint bean water
salt and pepper
a little grated cheese
2 tbsp. chopped parsley

Shell the older beans or top and tail the younger ones, removing any strings and cutting them into 1 inch/2.5 cm pieces. Drop them into boiling salted water. Cover and cook until almost tender. Strain the beans (and if liked) reserve ½ pint/250 ml of liquid for the sauce.
Melt the butter or margarine in a small saucepan and add the flour. Stir for a couple of minutes but do not brown.
Slowly add the milk (or milk and bean water), stirring all the time, and cook until thickened. Add a little cheese, salt and pepper and the parsley. Pour over the beans, stir gently, cover and put in a moderate oven to finish cooking.

Variation: A more luxurious version can be made with very young beans: merely top and tail them and pare them thinly down the sides. Cook them in unsalted boiling water until barely tender. Add salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, chopped parsley, 2 oz/50 g of butter and 3-4 tbsp. of cream. Heat through gently before serving.

Serves 4

2 tbsp. butter
1 small onion finely chopped
4 tbsp. flour
¼ pint/125 ml dry white wine
¼ pint/125 ml chicken stock
sprig of marjoram, or ¼ tsp. dried
marjoram
salt and pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 lb/½ kg faba beans, shelled

Melt the butter and cook the onion until transparent. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute. Add the wine and stock, marjoram, seasoning, sugar and the beans. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes.

1 lb/½ fresh faba beans, shelled or 1 lb/½ kg dried faba beans
1 head lettuce
1 tsp. fresh thyme or ½ tsp. dried thyme
10 sprigs fresh parsley
12 small pearl onions
2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 fl oz/2½ tbsp. water
3 tbsp. butter or cream

If using dried faba beans, soak them overnight. Fresh ones should be shelled and their skins removed. Wash the lettuce, fresh thyme and parsley; shake off the excess moisture and chop. Peel the onions, place them in a saucepan with faba beans, lettuce, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper and water. Cover and simmer over low heat until cooked (about 30 minutes). Stir in the butter or cream before serving.

4 tbsp. oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 lb/½ kg fresh shelled or frozen faba beans
salt and black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½-1 ground coriander
1 lb/½ kg long-grain rice, washed and drained

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large heavy pan and fry the onion until soft and golden. Add the beans and sauté a little, turning them over and stirring. Cover with a little water and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer until the beans are just tender.
Fry the garlic and coriander in 2 tbsp. oil in a large frying pan. Add the washed and drained rice, and fry until transparent (not browned), add to the cooked beans together with enough water to make the liquid in the pan to ¾ pint/450 ml. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes (do not stir) until the rice cooked.

Serve hot with meat or cold with yoghurt and salad.

Variation: A version of this dish is served in Iran but 8 z of dry faba beans is used instead of the fresh ones. Butter replaces oil for frying and turmeric replaces the garlic and coriander.

1 lb/½ faba beans, shelled
5 fl oz/125 g yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 egg yolk

Cook faba beans in a little boiling water until just tender. Drain. Put in a pan with the yoghurt and garlic and heat through gently. Add the egg yolk and stir until slightly thickened, without boiling. Serve.

This dish is also common in other Middle Eastern Countries.

1 lb/½ kg dried faba beans
2 Spanish onions (red ones), grated
or finely chopped or
1 bunch sprigs onions, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1-2 tsp. ground cumin
1-2 tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. baking powder
oil for frying

Soak beans in cold water for 24 hours. Remove skins if this has not already been done. Drain, mince and pound them. Mix all ingredients together except oil, season to taste. Pass mixture through the fine blade of a mincer twice, then pound. Let paste rest for at least ½ hour.
Flatten walnut-sized lumps into round cakes 1½ inches across. Let them rest for a further 15 minutes, then fry them in deep hot oil until golden brown.

Serve hot with salad and bread.

Variation: Baking powder is sometimes replaced by ½ oz fresh yeast/¼ oz dried yeast dissolved in a few tablespoons of lukewarm water.

Traditional Andalusian farmworker's lunch dish.

100 large dry faba beans
1 large clove
half a green pepper
4 oz olive oil
2 oz wine vinegar
1 egg white
1 tsp salt

Soak the faba beans overnight. Boil in plenty of fresh water until tender. Drain and peel off the skins. Blend all the ingredients, adding water to taste (up to 1 liter). Chill and garnish with diced onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and red peppers.

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