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One of the things I love most about Mediterranean cooking is its simplicity. For very little effort and minimal ingredients, you can get maximum taste.
If you’ve never tried Greek fava before, it’s almost like eating a warm lemony hummus. It’s very moorish – you have been warned!
Greek Fava
Fava is traditionally served warm topped with thinly sliced red onion and/or capers on top and some toasted pita bread on the side. I decided to turn this into a meal, so I roasted a few simple vegetables - red and orange bell peppers, courgette and red onion - sprinkled with some additional oregano and thyme, in a 180c/360f (fan) oven for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through the cooking time.
Ingredients
- 250 g yellow split peas
- 1 small red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 500 ml vegetable stock low salt variety, preferably
- 1 tsp dried Greek oregano
- hot water as necessary see notes
- the juice of 1 small lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the split peas until water runs clear and pick through to remove stones.
- Leave the split peas to soak in fresh water while you dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion for about 5 minutes until soft and starting to brown.
- Then add the garlic and cook that for a further minute until fragrant.
- Drain the split peas and add them to the pot along with the stock and orgeano, then stir to combine.
- Pop a lid on the saucepan and leave to simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes.
- Check the water level after 30 minutes and give everything a stir. Keep simmering until the split peas become very soft and tender, and break apart easily. Add a little more water if required - the fava should resemble a thick soup when cooked. Check every 10 mins or so to see when your fava is done.
- Remove from heat once cooked, add the lemon juice, and blend to a smooth paste using an immersion blender.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with roasted vegetables, a drizzle of oilve oil and some capers.
Notes
Depending on the size of the split peas, the fava may take anywhere between 30 minutes and 1 hours to cook. If the peas have absorbed all the water, but are not quite cooked through, top the pan up with some extra hot water. I used an extra 250ml during this process, but as with the cooking time, the amount of water you will need will depend on the size of your split peas. Don't let the pan dry out.
