Bigilla is one Malta's favourite dips. It is very easy to prepare. I remember the Bigilla vendor in Malta with his tiny van running around the villages I grew up in...he always had his voice shouting ''Tajba u tgħali'' (Warm & delicious) on repeat on his cassette player! :) The most time consuming bit of the whole process boiling the beans. This dip is prepared with Ful Medames which hail from North Africa, originally Egypt although the beans used in the original old recipe where called Ful Ta' Ġirba [Djerba beans] which were very similar to Ful Medames but smaller and darker. They basically taste the same. This recipe is to make about half a kilo of Bigilla. You can freeze any extra Bigilla for future use...or, I use it as a spread to make one of my favourite sandwiches which is tomato paste, olive oil, bigilla & Maltese peppered cheeselets. Here is what you will need...
- 500g Ful Medames, soaked in water overnight
- 8 garlic cloves, each cut in 4 pieces
- Extra virgin olive oil, abundant
- Small bunch of fresh parsley
- 1 red chilli, chopped (optional)
- Chilli sauce, to taste (optional)
How to...
- Put the soaked beans in a pan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil on high heat, lower the heat and simmer partially covered for an hour or until the beans are fairly soft. Drain and set aside to cool down.
- Put the beans, parsley, garlic and chilli sauce (if using) in a food processor and blend well until smooth. While the processor is on add the olive oil until you get a smooth consistency. You can put as much olive oil as you want.
- Serve in bowls with extra chilli sauce and olive oil. Serve with crackers, grissini (breadsticks) or spread on crusty bread.
Enjoy!!
R&A
No comments:
Post a Comment