Traditionally this is a breakfast dish but it's still eaten throughout the day and can always be found on street stalls. I've gone for shop bought fava beans but if you want to make the beans yourself from dry, soak 200g of dried fava beans overnight in water with a few teaspoons of baking powder. Next day, wash the beans and add them to a pan with enough water to cover and simmer them for about 40/45 minutes
The wide range of toppings keep this dish vibrant and tasty so don't feel the list of topping options below are all you can use. This dish is versatile enough to cope with topping variations galore
Drain the fava beans in a sieve and retain the liquid in a small saucepan. Over a low heat, bring the cooking liquid to a simmer and reduce by a third
Add the sieved fava beans to a bowl and then remove a third of the beans and add to the reduced cooking liquid. These need to be crushed to make the dish thicken. Once mashed, pour the remaining beans into the saucepan, add the salt (to taste), give it a stir and warm the beans through
When it comes to serving, put a spoonful of beans in a bowl, top with some olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley and a piece of pitta bread
Let people add any additional toppings they want