Wolfert describes this dish as "soupy". And Wikipedia describes it as either a soup or a dip. My byssara did not come out soupy. The instructions say to cook it down to a "nice thick consistency" and I think I may have overshot a bit. Don't go for "stand a spoon in it" thick when you're making this because it will thicken up even more as it cools. My byssara ended up sliceable!

Byssara

Slightly adapted from the Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Ingredients

• 2 c. split dried fava beans¹
• 6 c. water
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 6 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 lemon (optional)
• 1/2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
• 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne or Kashmiri chilies
• extra olive oil, to serve

Directions

1. Soak the fava beans overnight in 6 or 7 c. of water. Discard any beans that float.
2. Wash and drain the beans.
3. Bring the water to a boil.
4. When the water is boiling, add the beans and reduce heat to medium-low.
5. Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour, skimming as needed.
6. Add the garlic and 2 Tbsp. of the oil and cook for another hour or two. (Aim for thick soup, rather than hummus consistency.)
7. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
8. Combine the cumin seeds and salt and grind to a powder.
9. Add half of the cumin-salt mixture to the beans and reserve the other half for garnish.
10. Press the beans through a fine sieve and beat in the remaining 1/4 c. of olive oil.
11. Add salt and lemon juice to taste.
12. Garnish with the cumin-salt blend and a bit of paprika and cayenne.
13. Serve with olive oil and toasted bread.

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¹ In other recipes, Wolfert calls for "split dried peeled fava beans". Here she simply calls for "split dried fava beans", no mention of peeling. I couldn't find split fava beans, so I got a bag of whole (unpeeled) fava beans. Since this recipe refers readers to a note explaining that unpeeled favas require longer to soften, I figured that whole, unpeeled beans would be fine. But once the beans had soaked, I realized how thick and tough the skins were and ended up peeling them anyway. Next time I'd just seek out skinned split fava beans. Zehr's didn't have them, but it turns out that Ethnic does! ^Back