This is one of my favorite lunches. And it is super healthy.
I started by cooking it for myself, and then realized it constitutes the perfect, simple mezze dish—a warm salad of very few parts. So now everyone gets to enjoy it when sea beans and fava beans are in season, i.e., the summer months. If you want to make it out of season, use green beans instead of sea beans and frozen split fava beans.
Ingredients
Sea Beans With Fava Beans and Dill
Serves 1 hungry shopkeeper for lunch
- Splash of cooking oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 70 grams sea beans
- 70 grams shucked fresh fava (broad) beans
- 6-7 cherry tomatoes
- Pinch of ground saffron, steeped in a splash of boiling water
- Couple of fronds of dill
- Splash of lemon juice
- Pepper, to taste ( you won't need salt, as sea beans are naturally full of the stuff)
- Lemon wedges, to serve
Steps:
- Heat the oil in a pan until sizzling, then add the garlic.
- Toss in the vegetables and tomatoes and sauté gently for 3–4 minutes before adding the saffron water, dill, lemon juice and pepper.
- Serve with an extra wedge of lemon. I usually eat this with crispbread I make, but store bought will do as well.
Reprinted with permission from:
Veganistan: A Vegan Tour of the Middle East and Beyond
Sally Butcher. Interlink Books, 2023. InterlinkBooks.com
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