Hummus Ful
To add a layer of complexity, hummus can be topped with either warm fava beans (called ful), toasted pine nuts, or more tahini, which is ladled into the center and sometimes doused with an aromatic olive oil. Stewed fava beans over hummus are a revelation atop a revelation: earthy, pepper-tinged, and meaty without a trace of meat.
In this dish the two robust beans slug it out, both vying for your palate’s attention, neither ever quite vanquishing the other. It’s a fight you’re happy to have waged in your mouth. In pursuit of a recipe for the fava beans,
I tracked down a Jewish grandma (and fantastic cook) who emigrated from Baghdad in 1945, Karmela Eini. For the ful, Eini recommends small dried fava beans, available locally for about $1 a pound at many Middle Eastern shops, and lots of cumin. Green chili peppers and chopped fresh cilantro embed a piquant fire. When it comes to making hummus, Eini likes to soak dried chickpeas with a splash of soda water, then pump up the flavor with garlic and plenty of lemon juice. It goes without saying that she has a heavy hand with the tahini.
Though this dish can be made with canned beans, it’s best to use dried ones and soak them overnight. Dried chickpeas are at most supermarkets; small dried favas are at Middle Eastern stores, as is tahini. They can be cooked alongside one another, after which they meet in their duet (or duel). Adjust spices and heat according to taste.
HUMMUS
1 pound dried chickpeas
Cooking liquid from simmering chickpeas
1 cup tahini
Juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Salt, to taste
FUL
1 pound dried small fava beans
Cooking liquid from simmering favas
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
3 small hot chili peppers, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Salt, to taste
Hummus
1. In a bowl, soak the chickpeas in water to cover them by several inches. Set aside at room temperature overnight.
2. Rinse the beans, tip them in a large saucepan, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender, skimming any foam from the surface.
3. Dip a 2-cup heatproof measuring cup into the pot. Remove about 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid; set aside. Drain the chickpeas.
4. In a food processor, work the warm chickpeas with a few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid until they are smooth.
5. Add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and salt. Continue pulsing the mixture, adding more bean cooking liquid, if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and just holds its shape.
Ful
1. In a bowl, soak the favas in water to cover them by several inches. Set aside at room temperature overnight.
2. Rinse the beans, tip them in a large saucepan, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender, skimming any foam from the surface.
3. Dip a 2-cup heatproof measuring cup into the pot. Remove about 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid; set aside. Drain the beans.
4. In a large flameproof casserole, heat the oil and add the cilantro, chilies, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the cumin and salt. Add the favas and enough of the fava cooking liquid to make a stewy consistency. With a potato masher, puree about half the beans (or more, if want a smoother mixture).
6. Spoon a ladleful of hummus onto a large deep plate. With the back of a spoon, shape the hummus into a bowl. Add a ladle of the ful. Serve with pita.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the act of eating hummus has given rise to its own lexicon in Israel. The Yiddish “tinkin’’ means to dip; the Hebrew “l’nagev’’ to mop up. Here’s what you do: Tear off a piece of fresh pita and fashion it into a makeshift spoon. Then swoop in for a bit of both hummus and ful, ending your scoop with a delicate curl of the wrist - the hummus connoisseur’s preferred motion - and keep going until the bowl is clean. Latter-day hippies and bean freaks will want to follow suit.
These shops carry the ingredients to make hummus and ful; and they also have homemade hummus and pita.
Bay Sweets Market, 120 Spring St., West Roxbury, 617-327-3737
Droubi Bakery, 748 South St., Roslindale, 617-325-1585
Eastern Lamejun Bakers, 145 Belmont St., Belmont, 617-484-5239
Massis Bakery, Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, 617-924-0537
Sevan Bakery, 599 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, 617-924-3243
The Butcherie, 428 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-731-9888