Fava beans, also known as broad beans, are very delicious, but there’s one problem: they have thick skin, and every bean needs to be peeled separately. Especially dried fava beans are a little difficult to work with. I was very happily surprised when we found dried split fava beans at a local shop, Al Marwan. Having already been peeled and split, they were very easy to cook.

Fava beans have a distinctive taste, nutty and strong. That’s why I didn’t mess up the recipe with too many spices. I added a bit too much cooking liquid to the puree, and it ended up too soupy, so I had to add a can of chick peas. They didn’t affect the taste too much, but using only fava beans would result in a creamier consistence.

• 1 small onion
• 3oo g dried split fava beans
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 dl olive oil
• 1 dl frozen parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• some cooking liquid for the consistence
• 1 (400 g) can of chick peas

I soaked the beans overnight, and then cooked them in plenty of water. In the cooking water, I added one sliced onion, two sliced garlic cloves, some salt, and a few teaspoons of olive oil. Then I cooked the beans until they were mushy, for about one hour.

Now, I pureed the beans in some cooking liquid, and as it became clear that the dip resembled a soup more than a puree, I had to add a can of chick peas to make it firmer. To prevent this procedure, I would omit adding cooking liquid at this point, and instead mash the beans in the olive oil and lemon juice required in the recipe. Then, I would add some cooking liquid as needed. It is always possible to add liquid in a dish, but removing it is considerably trickier.

I seasoned the dip to my taste, refrigerated it for a few hours, and served with some crackers and freshly baked bread. The photo above was actually taken the next morning, when we had this for breakfast on some Finnish sour rye bread.