Ful Medamas

• 1-1/2 pounds:small dried fava beans, soaked overnight in the refrigerator and drained
• 1/2 cup:red lentils, rinsed and sorted to remove any debris
• 1 medium:Spanish onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic:peeled and finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes,:chopped or 1-15-ounce can whole plum tomatoes with their juices (broken up with your hands)
• 4-1/2 cups:vegetable stock or water
• 2 teaspoons:harissa (optional)
• 2 teaspoons:kosher salt

Preparation

1. Place all ingredients into a slow cooker.
2. Cook on high for 2 hours. Turn temperature down to low and cook for 10 hours.
3. After 12 hours, check consistency. Ful should not be overly thick.
4. Add more liquid to make it more "soupy," if necessary.
5. Serve in a bowl with your favorite condiments and plenty of whole grain flat-breads or toasted pita.

Tips

Small fava beans can be found in most Middle Eastern stores, or online. In a pinch, you can substitute regular, brown lentils. This of course is not traditional, and probably will ruffle some purist feathers.

Here are some of the traditional garnishes for Ful Medamas: Hot sauce, olive oil, tahina, hummus, tomato sauce, butter, fried egg, hard-cooked egg, chick peas, green onions, toasted cumin seeds, chopped parsley and sumac.

Contributed by: Jewish Slow Cooker Recipes by LAURA FRANKEL

Lately I have been eating breakfast the way the Egyptians do. I have Ful Medamas a simple preparation of small, dried fava beans, red lentils, onion, and tomato. In Egypt, Ful Medamas is called "everyman's breakfast, the shopkeeper's lunch and the poor man's dinner." For literally pennies per serving the basic Ful is a healthy, fiber-rich delight.