Cook this: Gido Habib's ful breakfast from Eat, Habibi, Eat! - National Post

'It's one of those breakfasts that keeps you full. It keeps you satisfied,' says chef Shahir Massoud

Author of the article:

Laura Brehaut

Gido Habib's ful breakfast from Eat, Habibi, Eat! Photo by Kyla Zanardi

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Our cookbook of the week is Eat, Habibi, Eat! by Shahir Massoud. Over the next three days, we’ll feature more recipes from the book and an interview with the author.

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Chef Shahir Massoud’s maternal grandfather started every day with ful mudammas. “It’s one of those breakfasts that keeps you full. It keeps you satisfied,” says Massoud of the fava bean stew. “And I think that’s one of the reasons why it’s the quintessential Egyptian breakfast.”

Fave beans are a staple in Egyptian cuisine, he adds, and they’re often prepared simply with plenty of lemon, fresh herbs and tahini, scooped up with bread. Here, he tops the ful with a sunny-side up egg — which is his preference — but it’s commonly served without an egg as well, and can be enjoyed at any time of day.

“With an egg, it’s almost got a Middle Eastern huevos rancheros vibe, because you’ve got the egg, and you’ve got the bean and you’ve got the herbs. But it does go on this Middle Eastern tangent with the tahini and the amount of lemon,” says Massoud.

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This recipe was among the first he developed for Eat, Habibi, Eat! Since ful is such a classic dish, it was unthinkable to write an Egyptian cookbook without it. Initially, Massoud toyed around with adapting it slightly, using a variety of bean other than fava, but his mother wasn’t having it.

“She was right,” says Massoud, “and there was no reason to change it.” So pick up a can of fava beans and some flatbreads, and dive into a satisfying stew that has been enjoyed at least since the Neolithic period, and potentially as far back as the time of the Pharaohs.

Eat, Habibi, Eat! is Toronto chef Shahir Massoud’s first cookbook. Photo by Appetite by Random House

GIDO HABIB’S FUL BREAKFAST

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes

Beans:
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 red onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp + pinch salt, divided
3 tsp ground cumin
19 fl oz (540 mL) can fava beans, rinsed
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

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Flatbreads:
6 slices flatbread
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp butter
6 eggs
Pinch salt
1 red onion, sliced
1 tsp chili flakes
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped

Step 1

To make the beans, in a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and a pinch of salt, cooking to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cumin and the beans, along with the rest of the olive oil. Cook, breaking up the beans with a wooden spoon, for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 2

Transfer to a bowl, then mix in the tahini, lemon juice and 1/2 cup water. Season with the remaining teaspoon of salt.

Step 3

To make the flatbreads, preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Brush each flatbread with some olive oil, then spread some of the ful mixture on each piece. Place directly on a baking sheet and bake for 7 to 9 minutes until the bread browns nicely.

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Step 4

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the butter over medium-low heat and crack in the eggs. Fry until the whites set and the yolks are still runny. Season with a pinch of salt.

Step 5

Remove the flatbreads from the oven and top with the sliced red onion. Place the eggs on top, then finish with a pinch of chili flakes and the parsley and cilantro.

Serves: 6

Note: You can readily find canned ful mudammas (cooked fava beans) in grocery stores these days, but if you find dried fava beans, just soak them overnight, then bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender before using them in this recipe.

Recipe and image excerpted from Eat, Habibi, Eat! by Shahir Massoud. Copyright © 2021 Shahir Massoud. Photography by Kyla Zanardi. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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Cook this: Gido Habib's ful breakfast from Eat, Habibi, Eat! - National Post
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