South Sudan | Ful Medames

VEGETARIANS WHO EAT EGGS, YOU NEED TO TRY THIS!

Sudan and South Sudan, unsurprisingly, have a lot of foods in common so finding something that was unique to South Sudan proved to be impossible. I chose Ful Medames because, in my internet travels, it was mentioned in relation to South Sudan more than any other recipe I found.

I did have a couple of concerns about making this. I’d never had Fava beans prior to this and my only association with Fava beans came from “Silence of the Lambs” where they were part of a meal that Hannibal Lecter (fictional character, serial killer, cannibal) mentioned. So, from my POV, they did not have great PR and I wasn’t sure how they would taste. I couldn’t get them locally so I had to order some online but, if you live in a more populous area, you might be able to get them at your grocery store or a specialty grocery store.

I didn’t know if I’d be able to get any eggs but I went at the right time and managed to find some!

Aside from the Fava beans and eggs, the ingredients are easy to find. Prep includes chopping some veggies and cleaning some cilantro and parsley. (Note: I forgot to pick up parsley so I used freeze-dried parsley that I had on hand.) The cooking process is easy, just sauté some stuff in a pan and then add the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for a bit. You do need a flatbread of some sort to eat this with, the recipe recommends pitas but I had garlic naan in the freezer and used that.

I’m going to be honest; I did not have high expectations for this. I thought it would be okay but nothing special. I was wrong, this knocked my socks off! It was absolutely delicious!! I loved it!

I didn’t really detect a strong flavor from the Fava beans, they just tasted like beans. Beans, in general, don’t seem to have a ton of flavor to me but maybe they do to other people with more sensitive palates? The fresh lemon juice made everything taste so bright and fresh and just tied everything together. (If you do make this, use fresh lemon juice, do not use the stuff in the bottles. There IS a difference in flavor!)

This was also much more filling than I expected it to be. With the naan, it was very satisfying and didn’t leave me feeling like something was missing. I was absolutely stuffed after eating one portion!

Will I make this again? YES!