Dried Beans

Chickpeas get all the press these days, as much for the recently discovered properties of their cooking liquid, aquafaba, as an egg-white substitute, as for their mild, nutty flavor and versatility outside the hummus bowl. But they are hardly the only legume prized in the Middle East. Fava beans (foul mudammas) are everywhere in the Middle East. These are not the seasonal broad beans found in Italian cooking; favas are small, dark red beans the size and shape of a navy bean. Many Middle Easterners eat them daily for breakfast; they are also used in dips, and soups, and paired with other local ingredients in hearty stews.