Fava Beans with Toasted Bread and Tofu Tahini Sauce

This is variation of the chickpea dish that our favorite Lebanese restaurant makes. In addition to changing the bean I added the tomatoes and lemon and eliminated the oil. I also changed the yogurt to silken tofu. Overall I am very happy with how well this dish came out.

Fava Beans with Toasted Bread and Tofu Tahini Sauce
Serves 6

Ingredients:

½ yellow onion, finely diced
4 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
1 ½ cloves of garlic, grated
¼ teaspoon of cumin
¼ teaspoon of coriander
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 pound of small dried fava beans, cooked until tender
6 small whole wheat pita breads (or substitute low fat pita chips)
8 tablespoons of silken tofu, tahini and garlic dip
3 tablespooons of almond milk, or less
¼ cup of pine nuts, toasted

Directions:

Cooke the onion, tomatoes, garlic and lemon juice until onions are tender. Add the cooked fava beans and heat over low until hot.

While the beans are getting warm tear the pitas into bite size pieces and dry toast in a cast iron pan until crispy.

Make the sauce by combing the silken tofu, tahini, and garlic dip and almond milk (one tablespoon at a time) into the blender or food processor. Add almond milk until you reach the consistency you like.

To serve the dish, place the beans in the bottom of the bowl. Pour a drizzle of the tofu tahini mixture on top and garnish with the toasted pine nuts. Surround the exterior of the beans with the crispy bread shards. Traditionally the bread is placed on the bottom of the dish and the beans put on the top. My husband likes this served with the bread shards on top so that is the way we eat it. Feel free to layer this any way you wish.

Serve hot.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 415.9
Calories From Fat (18%) - 74.92

Total Fat - 9.12g
Saturated Fat - 1.04g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 293.88mg
Potassium - 1113.86mg
Total Carbohydrates - 61.69g
Fiber - 25.18g
Sugar - 8.21g
Protein - 29.54g

Comments:

This dish has good flavor and I particularly like the interplay of textures with the soft beans, creamy tofu topping and crunchy bread shards. The flavor is definitely Middle Eastern, but not overpowering. If you like things acidic a little fresh lemon juice added at the end when you are plating would be very nice.