Unplugged

I've been taking the last of the broad bean harvest. Although it might seem like a tedious task to sit and first pod and then peel the individual mature beans, you can listen to music, have a drink, chat to friends, soak up the sunshine. It's not a real hardship.



The food processor broke but I was determined to make this most traditional of Egyptian bean dishes, Ta'amia, using only traditional methods and implements.

Take about 400g of fully mature broad beans, just before the seeds start to dry and wrinkle. At other times of the year use split dried beans, soaked overnight but for a couple of weeks in the summer all you need are the hard old pods of the end of the season.

Pod them and remove the chewy seed coat. I use my thumbnail and raw beans but you might find it easier to blanch the beans and cool them first.

Use your pestle (the pounding tool) and mortar (the solid bowl) to crush the released bean cotyledons into a soft pulp. The finer you make the puree, the easier it will be to form the rissoles but even quite coarse mixes will hold together in the pan. As you go, add a big clove of garlic and a bunch of herbs, parsley, coriander, mint, also a teaspoonful of cumin seed and some salt and pepper to taste. If you like you can add a pinch of chilli powder but I prefer not to.

The smell is wonderful. Scrape the mixture into a bowl, add a small onion finely chopped and knead the mixture a little to make sure everything is well combined then allow it to rest for an hour.



Use a spoon and your hands to shape the Ta'amia. Form into small flat patties, round or oval in shape and about 1cm thick. You should get about 12 from this many beans. If your mixture is coarse it may seem hard to get the shapes to hold together. If they need further processing to make a finer meal return to the mortar and pound some more or use your processor. Fry in medium hot oil either in a shallow pan (use about 1cm oil) or a deep fryer. They will take about 7-10 minutes and should be turned over halfway through cooking. Allow to drain on kitchen towel in the warm while you prepare the Tahini-garlic lemon sauce.

Crush a clove of garlic with a teaspoonful of fine salt. When it's turned to a soft pulp add two or three teaspoonsful of tahini and a teaspoonful of oil, either from the Tahini jar or some olive oil. Add the juice of half a lemon (anything up to a whole lemon if you like it) and mix well. If the mixture seems a little thick add water by the teaspoonful, mixing in well each time until the consistency is how you like it. This is a very strong but delicious sauce.



We served these in soft white bread, with slices of fried aubergine, tomatoes from the garden and fresh pole beans and olives. Add sauce to taste.