Foul Nayeh

In early spring across Lebanon, fresh fava beans (fool akhdar) are eaten raw straight from the pod — a ritual of the season as much as a dish. Foul nayeh is the simplest expression of this: shelled young beans tossed with lemon, garlic, olive oil, and fresh herbs, eaten with flatbread and salt. Only the youngest, smallest beans should be eaten raw; larger ones must be blanched.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1.2kg (2 lb 10 oz) fresh fava bean pods, yielding about 400g (14 oz) shelled beans
• 4 tbsp (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp (45ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced to a paste with a pinch of salt
• 30g (1 cup loosely packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 15g (½ cup) fresh mint leaves, torn
• ½ tsp (2g) ground cumin
• 1 tsp (6g) flaky sea salt
• ½ tsp (2g) black pepper
• Arabic flatbread, to serve
• Radishes and spring onions, to serve

Instructions

1. Shell the fava beans. For the smallest, most tender beans (under 1.5cm / ½ inch), they may be eaten with their pale green inner skin on. Larger beans should be briefly blanched: drop into boiling water for 60 seconds, then transfer to ice water and slip off the outer skins to reveal the vivid green inner bean.
2. Place the prepared beans in a wide serving bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic paste, cumin, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour dressing over the beans and toss gently.
5. Scatter over the parsley and mint. Toss once more lightly.
6. Serve immediately at room temperature, with flatbread, radishes, and spring onions alongside.

Cook's Notes: The raw preparation is only appropriate for very young, small fava beans — a spring-only dish in Lebanon when pods are first harvested. Out of season, blanched and peeled frozen favas make an acceptable substitute. Do not dress more than 10 minutes before serving or the herbs will wilt.