Welcome to the column to go to when you’re a broke, tired college student in a dorm. A peek into my little slice of life: I’ve only been cooking for a few years now, and I am 25. I used to be an incredibly picky kid, and, to be honest, I’m still a picky adult. I’m autistic, and textures can make me auto-vomit, even if I like what I’m eating (RIP Yogurt if I eat more than 4 oz). As I’ve grown up and had to learn to cook, for the sake of my health, something I’ve challenged myself to do is to make either the national dish of every country, or at least a culturally relevant one, for every country on the planet. This is why I was able to give a recipe for Ropa Vieja in an earlier issue of the East Tennessean.
Over winter break, I made another country dish: Sudanese Ful Medames. Unlike the Ropa Vieja or the Katsu Curry, I cannot confirm if this is completely accurate, so going to the multicultural center in the Culp Center would be a great next stop.
You’ll need: 1 pound fava beans, soaked overnight; 1 Roma tomato, diced; ½ red onion, diced; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for serving; 1 lemon, juiced; 1 block of vegetable bouillon; quartered boiled egg, 1 per serving; 1 tablespoon feta per serving; salt; pepper; cumin; paprika; parsley and Pita Bread.
After soaking the fava beans overnight, replace the water until it covers the beans, and boil. Put the broth in; turn down to a simmer, and cover with a lid. The beans need to boil at least two hours but can be boiled longer for preference. You may have to replace the water as the steam rolls out. Once the beans are cooked, mash and season with the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and parsley.
Plate and top each serving with an additional tbsp of olive oil, feta, tomatoes, red onions and the quartered boiled egg. Eat with the pita bread as you would hummus.
