Fava Bean (Broad Beans) - A Healthy Olive Oil Meal (Turkish Recipe)

Hello everyone,

Today I made an olive oil meal from fava bean (broad beans) which you may find in the markets exactly this time of year in Turkey. You may probably know fava beans as a side dish called Foul from Lebanon cuisine. The difference is the dry seeds are used making a foul. But now I did this meal with fresh beans.  

The beans are very rich source of dietary fiber (66% per100g RDA) which acts as a bulk laxative. Dietary fiber helps to protect the colon mucosa by decreasing its exposure time to toxic substances as well as by binding to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon.

Broad beans are rich in phyto-nutrients such as isoflavone and plant-sterols. Isoflavone such as genistein and daidzein have been found to protect breast cancer in laboratory animals. Phytosterols, especially ß-sitosterol, help lower cholesterol levels in the body.

They also contain good amounts of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), riboflavin and niacin. These vitamins function as co-enzymes in cellular metabolism of carbohydrate, protein, and fat.

Ingredients:
Half a kilo of fresh fava beans
1 onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Red pepper 
Black pepper
1 tablespoons flour (heaping)
Half a lemon
1 teaspoon sugar
Olive oil

Preparation:
First clean and chop beans. Fill a container with some water add lemon juice and flour stir it then put all beans. This is an important process to prevent the fresh beans darken. I assure you it's not good. :(

Meanwhile, saute onions in olive oil until become golden brown in a saucepan. Add tomato paste and spices. Add the beans to the pot without washing. Saute a few minutes. Add some boiling water over the beans 1-2 fingers. Close the pressure cooker's lid by adding salt and sugar. It takes almost half an hour get cooked in a pressure cooker. If you cook it with normal pot the cooking time will be longer. 

Please do not cook too much since all fibers are gone and it's not healthy for us anymore. Al dante is good. :)

It is recommended to be served with a garlic yogurt. 

Enjoy your meal. :)