Byesar (broad bean dip)

Paula Wolfert’s wonderful book, Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco, describes Byesar as the North African cousin to Middle Eastern hummus made of chickpeas.  This is high praise as hummus is one of the Arab world’s greatest food contributions.

I was skeptical after reading this claim.

I was convinced this is a great recipe after giving it a go and tasting just one spoonful of the still warm broad bean puree. I now think this is one of the most exciting recipes I have found in my quest to discover interesting plant-based foods.

I grew up eating many special foods from Morocco, but I never had the opportunity to taste this beloved dish. It is made with split fava beans (broad beans for those of you who are more familiar with this name), fruity olive oil, a hint of garlic, cumin and lemon. That’s it – just some humble ingredients put together in your food processor.

My adaptation of Wolfert’s wonderful recipe uses a pressure cooker instead of the traditional enamel pot. The pressure cooker method takes about 25 minutes to cook and another 10 minutes of preparation/finishing time. The more traditional method requires 2+ hours (not including the overnight soaking necessary to soften the beans).

The flavor of this dip is richer than hummus, although it has far less fat because of the absence of tahini. I enjoy it the same way as I would eat the more traditional hummus…which means I require a lot of Arab-style bread…or a very large spoon.

Yield:  about 4-6 servings