Egyptian Bessara with Fava Beans and Herbs
Bessara is split fava beans simmered with a great deal of fresh herbs and blended until creamy. The secret to the green colour is adding the herbs in the last five minutes — long cooking turns them a dull olive, and the visual difference is dramatic.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 65 min
- Calories
- 260
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Bessara is a Sham el-Nessim staple alongside fesikh and herring, and it is eaten hot or cold. It is one of the cheapest Egyptian dishes and one of the richest in protein — this heavily herbed version is the Egyptian original, and there is a simpler Moroccan version too.
Method
-
1
Cook the beans
Simmer the soaked beans with the water, onion and garlic over medium heat for forty minutes until completely soft and easily crushed between two fingers.
⏱ 45 min -
2
Prepare the herbs
Wash all the herbs thoroughly and chop them coarsely. The quantity is deliberately large — in a proper bessara the herbs are roughly half the volume of the beans.
⏱ 8 min -
3
Add the herbs
Add all the herbs to the beans and cook for five minutes only. Any longer and the green turns a dull olive, and there is no going back.
⏱ 5 min -
4
Blend
Take the pan off the heat and blend with a stick blender or in a jug blender until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and cumin.
⏱ 5 min -
5
Adjust the texture
If it is too thick, add hot water gradually. You want the consistency of a thick soup — it should run slowly off a spoon.
⏱ 3 min -
6
Fry the topping
Fry the sliced onion in oil until deep golden, add the garlic for the last minute, and pour them over the bessara at the table.
⏱ 8 min
Cooked it? Rate it
Your rating tells the next cook whether this recipe is worth their time.
✓ Thanks — your rating is in.
Tips that actually matter
- Herbs in the last five minutes only — that is the difference between vivid green bessara and a drab one.
- The beans must soak overnight, or cooking time doubles and the texture stays coarse.
- It is eaten hot or cold — at Sham el-Nessim it is served cold with fesikh and herring.
- Add the fried onion at serving, not before, so it stays crisp.
People also ask
Why did my bessara lose its colour?
The herbs cooked too long. Add them in the last five minutes and take the pan off the heat immediately afterwards.
Can I use whole dried beans?
Split beans are faster and give a smoother texture. Whole beans work but need longer soaking, longer cooking and peeling.
What is the difference between Egyptian and Moroccan bessara?
The Egyptian version is heavily herbed and green. The Moroccan is beans, garlic, olive oil and cumin only, and it is yellow.
What is it eaten with?
At Sham el-Nessim, with fesikh, herring and spring onions. Day to day, with baladi bread, raw onion and lemon.
Cook mode
Egyptian Bessara with Fava Beans and Herbs
-
1
Cook the beans
Simmer the soaked beans with the water, onion and garlic over medium heat for forty minutes until completely soft and easily crushed between two fingers.
-
2
Prepare the herbs
Wash all the herbs thoroughly and chop them coarsely. The quantity is deliberately large — in a proper bessara the herbs are roughly half the volume of the beans.
-
3
Add the herbs
Add all the herbs to the beans and cook for five minutes only. Any longer and the green turns a dull olive, and there is no going back.
-
4
Blend
Take the pan off the heat and blend with a stick blender or in a jug blender until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and cumin.
-
5
Adjust the texture
If it is too thick, add hot water gradually. You want the consistency of a thick soup — it should run slowly off a spoon.
-
6
Fry the topping
Fry the sliced onion in oil until deep golden, add the garlic for the last minute, and pour them over the bessara at the table.
Comments
Cooked it? Tell us how it went, or ask a question — we read every comment.