Ful Medames

1. Cooking time depends on how old the beans are, so it helps to cook them ahead and reheat. Simmer the drained beans in fresh unsalted water in a large covered pan until tender, topping up the water to keep them covered and salting once they have softened. Expect 2 to 2½ hours of gentle simmering.
2. Once soft, let the liquid reduce. Lift out a ladle or two of beans, mash them with a little of the cooking liquid, then stir them back in to thicken the sauce.
3. Spoon the beans into bowls, scatter with chopped parsley, and serve Arab bread alongside.
4. Put out the dressing for people to help themselves: extra-virgin olive oil, lemon quarters, salt and pepper, crushed garlic, chilli flakes and ground cumin. Eat the beans lightly crushed with a fork so they soak up the dressing.
5. If you like, add a peeled hard-boiled egg per person broken into the bowl, a chopped cucumber and tomato salad, and thinly sliced mild onion or scallion.
6. For a traditionally thicker sauce, add a handful (¼ cup) of red lentils to the water at the start of cooking.

Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen

• Cook dried beans gently and give them time; older beans can need well over two hours before they turn properly tender.
• Lift out a couple of ladlefuls, mash them with some of their cooking liquid, then stir back in to thicken the pot naturally.
• Be generous with the table dressing of oil, lemon, garlic and cumin, since that is where most of the flavour comes from.
• For the traditional thicker sauce, drop a handful of red lentils into the water at the start.