Maltese Bigilla (Dried broad bean dip)
A savoury spicy dried broad bean dip.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- dried fava beans 1 cup
- 750 ml water 2 cups
- 30 ml olive oil 2 tbsp
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 1/2 tbsp parsley chopped
To garnish
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 1 chili pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- olive oil drizzle
Instructions
- Start by soaking the dried fava beans from a day before you plan to cook the bigilla. In a large bowl place the dried beans and cover with water. Let it sit for a day whilst checking if more water is needed.
- The next day, rinse the beans and add the beans to a large pot with the water. Bring the beans to a boil. While it is boiling, you’ll notice some foam on the surface. Remove the foam with a slotted spoon.
- Cover and let it simmer for about an hour. Check the beans if they need more water. Let it cook for another 30 minutes and check for doneness. If the beans are still a bit hard let them cook for another 30 minutes.
- Once the beans are cooked, remove the excess water. Do not discard the water in which the beans cooked in for now. Add the beans to a food processor.
- Together with the beans, add two tbsps of the water in which the beans were cooked in, olive oil, salt, garlic, chili flakes and parsley. Pulse together until all the beans are broken and you have a thick paste. Add more water if the consistency is too thick.
- To serve, simply place the dip into a bowl and top with parsley, chili flakes and a diced chili pepper. Finally drizzle a good quality olive oil on top. Serve with warm bread or galletti.