Egyptian Bissara Recipe
Bissara is a creamy, vibrant green vegan dip made from nutritious split fava beans, fresh aromatic herbs, and bold spices, all topped with crispy fried shallots for an added crunch.
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Ingredients
For the Shallot-Infused Oil and Fried Shallots
- 1 cup neutral frying oil, such as canola
- 10 sliced medium shallots, or yellow onions
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
For the Bissara
- 2 cups dried split fava beans, 12.7 ounces; 360g, rinsed
- 2 cups packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, 2 ounces; 57g, divided
- 1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves, 1 ounce; 30g
- 1 quartered medium yellow or red onion
- ¼ cup/10g packed fresh dill
- 3 medium cloves garlic, 12g, peeled
- 1 green chile pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry mint
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan , use half as much by volume
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons shallot-infused oil (recipe above)
Garnish & Serve
- 1 tablespoon shallot-infused oil
- ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika or Aleppo pepper
- Fried shallots, recipe is above.
- Store-bought pita chips
Instructions
- For the Shallot-Infused Oil and Fried Shallots: In an 8-inch skillet, combine 1 cup neutral frying oil, such as canolaneutral frying oil, over medium-low heat. Once it is warm to touch, add 10 sliced medium shallots and cook, stirring often, until shallots are light golden brown and crisp.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. Set shallot-infused oil aside to cool.
- Store the fried shallots in an airtight container until you are ready to garnish the bissara. Store the shallot-infused oil in a clean jar.
- For the Bissara: Add the 2 cups dried split fava beans beans to a large bowl; cover with cold water by at least 2 inches. Cover and set aside to soak overnight (at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours) at room temperature. The second day, transfer the beans to a colander and rinse well under cold water; drain.
- In a 7-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, combine the s" uid="7"]plit fava beans, 1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves, 1 cup of cilantro, 1/4 cup dill, a quartered n" uid="9"], dill, [adjustable]" uid="11"], green chili pepper, [adjustable][wprm-ingredient style="bold" text="1 teaspoon dry mint" uid="13"], teaspoon ground cumin" uid="14"], 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and " uid="19"]. Stir in " uid="20"] and 30ml shallot-infused oil (recipe above)" uid="21"] (the beans will not be fully submerged in liquid; that’s okay). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let the beans simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. (Your beans may finish cooking in less than an hour; continue simmering to reduce the liquid until to a thick porridge-like consistency.) The beans should be soft and easy to crush with a fork. Make sure to stir every now and then so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely to room temperature, 60 to 90 minutes (mixture will thicken as it cools).
- Transfer cooled mixture to a food processor, add the remaining 1 cup fresh cilantro and process until you reach a creamy consistency similar to hummus, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. In case the dip is anything less than vibrant green, just add some more fresh parsley or cilantro herbs to punch up the color. Taste the bissara and adjust the seasoning.
- Transfer the bissara back to the pot to reheat gently over low heat until just warm or serve at room temperature.
- To Serve: Transfer the bissara to a serving bowl and drizzle with shallot-infused oil, garnish with a flutter of paprika, and top with the fried shallots. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with pita chips and/or vegetable sticks.
Nermine's Notes
- The consistency of Bosara should be more or less like a hummus dip, not too thick but not too liquidy either.
- In some countries, garlic could be pungent, therefore I recommend using roasted garlic instead, if needed.
- Ideally, use a heat diffuser to make sure the Bosara doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan while it simmers.