I don't know about you, but I love beans - all sorts of beans. Green and dried beans, red, brown, yellow...people don't eat enough beans, even though beans are a good source of protein and fiber.
Today's recipe is Green Beans. Now there are many kinds of Green Beans, but for today it's Broad beans also called Fava Beans.
In Arabic Broad beans are called Ful Akhdar -- In Iraqi it's called Bagella. Bagella can also be dried and Iraqis love Bagella - bagella stew, bagella tashreeb or fatta (can't explain that now), and bagella with rice and dill. The Persians call it baghalli.
For this recipe I will use Green fresh broad beans with their skin. The picture above shows the skin and the bean inside. You will use both. If you can't find the whole bean in your market, just use the inside. I believe you can also find it frozen. If you use frozen, bear in mind that the cooking time is lessened.
So for about 500grs of fresh broad beans you will need the following
1 onion finely chopped
1 tbs of vegetable oil
2 tbs of olive oil
4 gloves of garlic
half a bouquet of fresh coriander -chopped
1 tbs (more or less) of fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
a dash of cayenne pepper - optional.
I first cut the edges of the bean (I call it the head and tail) then slice each bean in 3 to 4 parts depending on how long it is. What you need is the whole beans in chunks.
fry the onion in vegetable oil until tender
crush your garlic on top and fry a little more
add your cut beans and stir a little more until the whole thing sizzles
add enough hot water to cover the beans but do not drown them. You can always add more water later...
let it boil for about 3mn
now add your 2 tbs of olive oil and chopped fresh coriander, salt and pepper
lower the heat and let it cook gently until tender.
Once cooked squeeze some lemon juice on top...Can be served hot or cold.
