Bessara - Moroccan Fava Bean Dip - Pebbles + Pomegranate Seeds

This is a fabulous dip that I had the pleasure of enjoying while visiting Tonya Jennings, of Cooking on the Bay Cooking School at her wonderful Brighton Bathing Box in Melbourne, and Tonya has been kind enough to share it with us.

Bessara Fava Bean Dip is a Moroccan recipe, traditionally made with fava beans; it is similar to Hummus, except that hummus is made with chickpeas and tahini paste. The word ‘bessara’ refers both to the Moroccan fava bean dip, as well as the Moroccan fava bean soup.

Fava beans are strong in flavour and hefty in texture. They are grown as cover crops, to “fix” nitrogen and naturally fertilize fields. Crops are harvested in spring, and then the plants are ploughed back under, adding usable nitrogen back into the soil. Both fava beans and chickpeas are used in the Middle East and northern African cuisine, somewhat interchangeably.

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Ingredients

200g dried fava beans, or 300g canned cooked beans, such as fava, broad, cannellini, butter beans*

3 cloves garlic

¼ bunch continental parsley

80ml cup argan oil** or olive oil

60ml lemon juice

2 tbs, or more of reserved cooking liquid

1½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp sweet paprika

½ tsp hot paprika or cayenne pepper

1½ tsp salt if using dried fava beans

additional cumin, paprika and olive oil, for garnish

1 tbs chopped parsley or cilantro, for garnish

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Method

If using the dried beans, soak the dried fava beans overnight in a large bowl of water. The next day, drain the beans and peel them if they weren’t already skinned and split.

Place the peeled fava beans in a pot and cover with a generous amount of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer the beans until very soft and tender, one hour or longer.

Drain the beans, either the freshly cooked fava or the canned, reserving the liquid. Chop the garlic and parsley in the food processor, add the beans, olive oil, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of the reserved liquid and spices. Process on high speed until smooth, adding additional liquid if necessary to thin the bessara. It should be thin enough to pour or spread out on a plate. Taste the bessara, and adjust the seasoning if desired.

Reheat the bessara and serve warm. Garnish with any of the following: ground cumin, paprika, hot paprika, olive oil, and chopped parsley.

Serve with foccacia, pide, pita bread, raw vegetables or pita crisps, made by cutting up the pita bread, lightly brushing with oil and sprinkling with lemon pepper and toasting on the oven until just golden and crisp.

Makes about 1½ cups.

*This dip is traditionally made with fava beans or broad beans. These beans always require overnight soaking and are not always easy to procure, so it is fine to use any variety of white bean. The results are similar.

** Argan oil is made from the nuts of the argan tree which is indigenous to Morocco. This oil is difficult to find here in markets but if by chance you see it, it is a worthwhile investment as it gives a more complex, nutty flavour.

For the soup, add more liquid and adjust the seasonings.