Besara (broad bean & spinach soup)

Serves 4-5

V

Besara is a vegetable soup originating in Egypt, and often made with fava beans. My version doesn’t have the beans (though you could add a tin of fava or chickpeas if you want), and is a variation on the soup from ‘Falastin’ (Sami Tamimi & Tara Wigley). The spiced pumpkin seeds sprinkled on to serve add a satisfying crunch.

Ingredients:

250g frozen spinach

500g frozen broad beans

1 litre vegetable stock

1 red onion chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 tbsp parsley

2 tbsp coriander

1 tbsp dill

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 red chilli, sliced

salt and pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Spicy pumpkin seeds (to serve):

50g pumpkin seeds

2 tbsp olive oil

tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1. Pour boiling water over the broad beans and leave for 30 seconds, then drain and refresh in cold water. This makes it easier to pod them. Squeeze out the bright green pods and put to the side.

2. Fry the onion gently in the oil till soft, then add the garlic and spinach. Stir till the spinach is thawed out.

3. Add the ground cumin and coriander, salt and pepper and stock. Add the broad beans and simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Pour the soup and herbs (reserving a little to serve) to a blender and whizz briefly. You want it to be a bit textured - not pureed.

5. To make the pumpkin seeds, put all ingredients into a frying pan and heat gently till the seeds are popping.

6. Reheat the soup and serve with some of the pumpkin seeds and a sprinkling of the fresh herbs. The remaining seeds can be stored in an airtight container and used to jazz up soups, salads, curries or casseroles.