Fava Paste

Gambilya Lentils on the left

On the Aegean Coastal towns both in Turkey and Greece, this recipe is a must in every restaurant. The trick with this recipe is to use early harvest olive oil to season the paste.

Ingredients ;

2 Cups dry Fava Beans or Gambilya Lentils
2 Table spoons of sugar
1 Table spoon lemon juice
2 big onions finally sliced
1 big onion whole
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions ;

Wash the fava beans well before soaking the fava beans in water overnight, the water should be 4 cups
Next morning boil the fava beans in the water it has stayed overnight adding salt, pepper and 1 big onion.
While the fava's are cooking, brown sliced onions with sugar in olive oil until the onions are caramelized.

1st Option :  Put the cooked fava beans in a food processor and make a fine paste and serve it with  caramelized onions on top.

2nd Option : Pour in the caramelized onions in the cooked fava beans, cook 5 minutes more and than put all the mixture in the food processor, serve it topped with some diced dill.

Tips : This favorite dish differs from region to region, amount of sugar put in the dish is more in Northern Aegean than the southern parts, now that we know we should use less sugar I tried this recipe with turmeric instead of sugar worked very well.