1000 Foods (pg. 704) for information, recipe is my own creation
Mint tea is popular across North Africa, with numerous regional variations. Mimi Sheraton discusses this in the text on page 704. We’ve already discussed the Moroccan variety, with lots of mint and a bit of green tea. Egyptian mint tea has less mint, more tea, and uses black tea instead of green. It’s similarly sweet, and is sometimes flavored with warm spices. I use a clove, a piece of cinnamon stick, and a pinch of cardamom for a flavor that’s present without overwhelming the mint. Note that black tea is brewed at a slightly higher temperature than green, so it can be added to the hot water right away.
Ingredients:
2 or 3 sprigs fresh mint
2 teaspoons black tea leaves
Sugar to taste
1 piece cinnamon stick, 3 to 4 inches
1 whole clove
Small pinch ground cardamom
Directions:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove, tear, and bruise the mint leaves. Place in a teapot or strainer cup with the tea leaves and spices.
Add boiling water to the mint, tea leaves, and spices, and steep for 3 to 5 minutes.
Strain into teacups, adding a pinch of sugar or more to taste.
In Egypt, the tea is usually a lot sweeter, kind of like the sweet tea popular in the US Southeast, but served hot. Personally, I don’t like that much sugar, and prefer tea unsweetened in most cases. Flavored teas like this one are an exception, but a pinch of sugar per teacup or a few per mug is plenty.
1000 Foods (pgs. 708 – 709) for information, recipe is my own creation
There’s no liver or chianti with these fava beans. To be honest, neither sounds appealing. The purpose of the liver is to filter toxins from the body, and supposedly chianti is a fairly dry wine. But fava beans on their own sound much better. Historically, most people across the Mediterranean and Middle East ate a largely vegetarian diet by necessity. Beans of all sorts provided essential protein and vitamins, which brings to mind an interesting story. Supposedly, the Ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras hated beans but advocated a vegetarian diet. Balanced nutrition would still be possible if eggs and dairy were allowed, but Pythagoras definitely made things more difficult for himself.
Supposedly, he even thought that beans were evil. Crazy as that probably sounds, there might have been a logical (okay, semi-logical) explanation. A small percentage of people don’t produce a particular enzyme that breaks down a chemical naturally occurring in fava beans. If someone with this gene does eat them, they become ill. Since this gene is most common in people living near the Mediterranean, Pythagoras likely knew a few people who suffered from it. It’s unclear why he decided that other types of beans were also evil, but maybe it was just a phobia. At a time and place where legumes were an essential source of protein, it would have been an unfortunate one.
Fava beans, also called broad beans, have a long history in Egypt as a staple food, especially for the poor. Sometimes, when prices were high, the government would even subsidize them to ensure they remained affordable. Ful medames, a basic fava bean “porridge,” is often eaten for breakfast with a variety of toppings. The beans can be enhanced with butter, oil, onions, boiled eggs, and/or herbs, depending on what’s available and affordable. It seems like a strange choice for breakfast, but the protein helps keep you full until lunchtime. Some bread provides carbs for balance, as well as a vehicle for soaking up the juice. Pitas are the traditional choice.
The beans, flavored with garlic and cumin and cooked until partially broken down, come to resemble refried beans. Combined with pita bread and assorted toppings, they bear a distinct resemblance to vegetarian tacos in a way, hence the description. While it’s a bit messy and time-consuming for breakfast, ful medames make a great vegetarian lunch or dinner, filling but fresh. And it’s customizable. Each person can add the toppings they wish.
Ingredients:
1 large can (about 30 ounces) fava beans, drained and rinsed
Water or broth
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
½ teaspoon cumin
Pinch hot pepper flakes, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Bread for serving (especially pitas, lightly warmed in oven with olive oil and salt)
Toppings (optional):
Flaxseed, olive, or untoasted sesame oil, or butter
Chopped parsley and/or cilantro
Minced onions, raw or sauteed, or scallions
Lemon juice
Plain yogurt
Vegetables (I used radishes and cucumbers), chopped, with vinegar and lemon juice to cover and a pinch of salt, and marinated in refrigerator for a few hours
Chopped hard-boiled eggs (I do not like them, but they are a common accompaniment, so enjoy (?) if desired)
Directions:
Place drained beans, garlic, cumin, and hot pepper flakes in a small to medium saucepan. Add enough water or broth to cover, about 1 ½ cups.
Bring to a soft boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and gently breaking up the beans.
When the beans have the texture of refried beans, remove from heat and serve in bowls. Pass desired toppings and plenty of bread.
This recipe makes two good-sized servings, but is easy to multiply for larger groups. Make sure to have at least one pita per person.
For free posts and recipes sent straight to your inbox, be sure to subscribe.
1000 Foods (pg. 711) for information, recipe is my own creation
Kosheri or Kushari has nothing to do with kosher rules, but the Israelites may well have eaten an early variant in Egypt. Their Egyptian neighbors may have been eating it over a thousand years earlier, in the 3rd Millennium BC. Records indicate that wheat, barley, lentils, garlic, and onions were cooked together in clay pots for a combination of starch and protein. Ancient Egyptians may have added flavorings like butter, fat, or vinegar to make things more interesting, depending on what they could afford. At a time and place when most people ate little meat, the lentils were an essential source of protein.
Even today, the starch/lentil combination is common in Egypt, particularly among those with less disposable income. Kosheri is a popular street food, often eaten for lunch. Rice, introduced at some point in the early centuries AD, is now the grain, pasta is added, sometimes browned in butter, and spicy tomato sauce is an essential flavoring. Interestingly, even though hot peppers didn’t really catch on in most of Europe when they were introduced from the Americas, Africans and Asians adopted them quickly and in much greater quantities. And presumably, early modern Egyptians found that tomatoes thrived in the sun and rich soil by the Nile.
To make kosheri, there are four elements needed: the rice/lentil mixture, tomato sauce flavored with garlic, vinegar, and hot pepper, onions browned in butter, and broken vermicelli (angel hair pasta), also browned in butter. Mimi Sheraton suggested that mastic was an essential flavoring so I tried it, but personally I think the kosheri is better without. It’s a balanced and flavorful vegetarian dish, and if the butter is replaced with oil, could even be made vegan.
Here’s the recipe I developed. You need:
2 cups long-grain rice
1 cup lentils (I used the yellow variety, but other kinds would work)
Pinch mastic (optional, has a bit of a piney flavor)
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
¼ cup vinegar (any kind but balsamic, which is too sweet)
1 can crushed tomatoes, about 16 ounces
1 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter
4 ounces vermicelli, broken into roughly 1-inch pieces
To make it:
For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan. When hot, add the garlic and cook until it starts to brown. Then add the vinegar and scrape the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, and leave sauce to simmer, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
If using the mastic, grind it with a pinch of salt to reduce sticking.
Bring 4 cups water to a boil, then add the lentils, salt, and optional mastic, partially cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the rice and another cup of water, fully cover the pot, and cook another 15 minutes.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the vermicelli and cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta browns. Empty the pasta onto a plate, but don’t wipe out the pan.
Add the rest of the butter. When it’s melted, add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until browned and reduced in volume.
To serve the kosheri, add a portion of the rice/lentil mixture to each plate. Top with tomato sauce, sauteed onions, and browned vermicelli to taste.
For more recipes, be sure to subscribe. It’s free, and you’ll get a notification whenever there’s a new post.
Feasting Through Time 