Ful Medames With Eggs And Pita Recipes

Steps:

• For the dough: Put 1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees F) in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the flour, sugar, yeast and 1 teaspoon salt to the water and mix on low until barely incorporated. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes for the flour to absorb the water. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough on medium high until smooth, about 7 minutes. Coat a large bowl with vegetable oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Move the dough around so it's coated with oil on all sides. Cover and let rise in a draft-free space, such as an unlit oven, until increased in size but not quite doubled, about 1 hour.
• Uncover the dough and place on a well-floured surface.
• Place a baking sheet upside down on the middle rack of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Turn a second baking sheet upside down and cover with a piece of parchment.
• Divide the dough into 5 pieces (see Cook's Note) and cover 4 with a damp cloth. Roll out the uncovered piece using a rolling pin into an oval about 20 inches long and 5 inches wide. Transfer the dough to the parchment on the back of the baking sheet. Repeat with a second piece of dough.
• For the toppings: Sprinkle about 1 cup kaşar on each oval, leaving about a 1-inch border on all sides. Top the cheese with sucuk slices, leaving some space in the middle to add an egg later. Fold the dough up and over about 3/4 inch onto the cheese on all sides and pinch the ends. Brush with vegetable oil.
• Slide the pides with the parchment onto the baking sheet in the oven. Bake until the cheese is melted and starting to brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Crack 2 eggs into 2 small bowls. Add 1 egg on top of each pide in the middle. Continue to bake until the eggs are set to your preference, another 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough, cheese, sucuk, oil and eggs.

Steps:

• As the cooking time varies depending on the quality and age of the beans, it is good to cook them in advance and to reheat them when you are ready to serve. Cook the drained beans in a fresh portion of unsalted water in a large saucepan with the lid on until tender, adding water to keep them covered, and salt when the beans have softened. They take 2-2 1/2 hours of gentle simmering. When the beans are soft, let the liquid reduce. It is usual to take out a ladle or two of the beans and to mash them with some of the cooking liquid, then stir this back into the beans. This is to thicken the sauce.
• Serve the beans in soup bowls sprinkled with chopped parsley and accompanied by Arab bread.
• Pass round the dressing ingredients for everyone to help themselves: a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, the quartered lemons, salt and pepper, a little saucer with the crushed garlic, one with chili-pepper flakes, and one with ground cumin.
• The beans are eaten gently crushed with the fork, so that they absorb the dressing.
• Optional Garnishes
• Peel hard-boiled eggs-1 per person-to cut up in the bowl with the beans.
• Top the beans with a chopped cucumber-and-tomato salad and thinly sliced mild onions or scallions. Otherwise, pass round a good bunch of scallions and quartered tomatoes and cucumbers cut into sticks.
• Serve with tahina cream sauce (page 65) or salad (page 67), with pickles and sliced onions soaked in vinegar for 30 minutes.
• Another way of serving ful medames is smothered in a garlicky tomato sauce (see page 464).
• In Syria and Lebanon, they eat ful medames with yogurt or feta cheese, olives, and small cucumbers.
• Variations
• A traditional way of thickening the sauce is to throw a handful of red lentils (1/4 cup) into the water at the start of the cooking.
• In Iraq, large brown beans are used instead of the small Egyptian ones, in a dish called badkila, which is also sold for breakfast in the street.

Steps:

• Drain the beans and rinse. Fill the empty, clean can with water and pour into a saucepan with the beans. Bring them to the boil to warm through, then take them off the heat.
• Meanwhile, in a separate medium frying pan, gently fry the onion and garlic in all but a few tablespoons of the olive oil for 5 mins, then add 2 tsp sea salt flakes, the cumin, chilli flakes and tomatoes. Drain the beans, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Add to the onion mixture and cook over a low heat for 30 mins, stirring often and adding some of the cooking liquid if it looks dry.
• Using a potato masher, mash the beans with the remaining olive oil, lemon juice and tahini. The final consistency should be a chunky, soft purée. If it splits slightly, mix in a drop of cold water.

Steps:

• Cover the beans with water and soak overnight. The next day, drain the beans and place in a large saucepan with garlic. Add water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, add eggs in their shells, the juice of the lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the beans for 12 hours, or until tender, checking occasionally and adding water if needed. Into each individual bowl, place 1 tablespoon chopped scallion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Peel the eggs and place one in each bowl. Peel the eggs and place one in each bowl. Spoon in the ful. Serve with Egyptian pickles and toasted pita.