Lunch · 50 min · moroccan

Bissara (Fava Bean Soup)

Weeknight-friendly Moroccan cooking: Bissara (Fava Bean Soup) comes together in 50 minutes with fava beans, garlic, and not much else.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 2 cups Fava beans
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 0.33 cup Olive oil
• 1 Lemon
• 1.5 tsp Salt
• 5 cups Water

Steps

1. Simmer the dried fava beans in the water with half the garlic for 35 to 40 minutes, until they collapse completely — bissara should be utterly smooth, with no trace of whole bean.
2. Blend until velvety, adding water as needed. The consistency should be thick enough to mound slightly, like a loose hummus.
3. Return to the pot and whisk in the olive oil, cumin, and salt. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring, until glossy and unified.
4. Ladle into wide bowls and finish each with a thread of your best olive oil, a dusting of paprika and cumin, and the remaining raw garlic pounded with salt.
5. Serve hot with crusty bread for scooping and lemon wedges. Bissara is peasant food elevated to art — proof that fava beans, garlic, and olive oil need nothing else.

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