Red Lentil Soup

Lentil soup is typically known as a slovenly affair. This recipe is wonderful, however, with a light color and more pleasant flavor (if you can find red lentils, of course)

Red Lentil Soup (based on this recipe)

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups red lentils

6 cups water

2 tsp thyme

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

Cooking:

In a small pot, add a little oil and fry garlic until golden. Add the lentils, water, thyme, cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer one hour. Serve with toasted pita bread.

Chapter 14 : Chile

Stretching across the Pacific coast of South America, Chile is a narrow country of mountains and coasts. The ingredients aren't too unfamiliar if you've cooked Peruvian cuisine: quinoa, corn, and potatoes are common.

For our first attempt we made Chilean asado. Asado is apropriate across Latin America, Chilean asado is topped with pebre: a mix of cilantro, onions and parsley.

Asado with Pebre

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: variable

Ingredients:

Any mix of the following meats:

Ribs, flank steak, chorizo, or offal

Pebre:

2 cups cilantro

2 cups parsley

1 chopped onion

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp crushed red pepper

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

Preparation:

Mix all pebre ingredients, excepy olive oil, in a bowl and refridgerate for one hour, then stir in olive oil right before serving.

Cooking:

Barbeque, or broil, meats until cooked. Then top with pebre and serve.

Walk Like an Egyptian

The chances are pretty good you've had hummus at some point. Chick pea hummus is common these days, but fava bean hummus has a far more complex flavor and I recommend trying it out. It doesn't take much.

And really, just go with the canned fava beans. It's easier. You can find tahini at any grocery store featuring imported items, or health food stores like Whole Foods. Based on this recipe:

Fava Bean Hummus

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 6

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 15oz cans of fava beans, drained

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cups tahini (roasted)

Options:

Toasted pine nuts (garnish)

Chopped parsley (garnish)

Roasted red pepper (chopped, then blended with the hummus)

Preparation:

In a food processor, combine garlic, fava beans, lemon juice, water, olive oil, and salt, and blend thoroughly. Then add the tahini and blend until smooth.

Serve with pita bread (preferably whole wheat, pocketless).

It's just about the easiest recipe ever, so have fun with it. Blend in different flavors. The fava beans produce a much more complex flavor than the chick pea hummus you're probably familiar with (though the only difference in the recipe is the beans), and the cost is almost nothing.

Chapter 5 : Egypt

I handed my torch to Katrina as we entered the tomb, stepping slowly toward the sarcophagus. "Beans," I said. "Among the gold and treasure of these tombs, they found fava beans."

"Fava beans?" she replied. "Why's that important?"

"Think of it! The first civilization, but both the poor and rich lived on a diet of a legume." I picked up a ruby, examining the gem in my palm. "They say even the pharoahs were satisfied with beans."

"So, you are sure these things aren't cursed, right?"

"Of course!" I said, ignoring the faint moaning coming from the sarcophagus. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Fava Beans

These brown beans often come in three sizes, and I recommend the small or medium, as the large can be a bit hard to cook evenly.

While chick peas are the staple of Levantine cuisine, Egypt has long used the fava bean for hummus, falafel, and easiest of all, ful medames. The flavor of this little bean, which I had never had until a short while ago, is incredible.

Ful Medames is the national dish of Egypt, and as simple as it sounds, it really is delicious. I tried out this recipe:

Ful Medames

Prep Time: Overnight (for beans soaking)

Cooking Time: 2 1/2 hours

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 cups dry fava beans

1/3 cup parsley

olive oil

3 lemons, quartered

6 cloves garlic

chilli pepper flakes

cumin

Prep:

It is important to soak the beans overnight, or longer. Make sure to drain them completely. If you soak them for multiple days, drain them daily.

Cooking:

Put the drained beans in a pot and cover with unsalted water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 1/2 hours, until beans are tender, and let the liquid reduce.

Take off the heat and mash the beans a bit. Then salt to taste.

Serve with the quartered lemons, cumin, chilli pepper flakes, parsley, garlic, and olive oil as condiments.