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Macco di fave
Broad bean purée
Macco di fave (maccu di fave): Sicilian purée of dried broad beans with wild fennel and olive oil
In Sicily, from the villages around Palermo to the hill towns of Ragusa, macco di fave is old peasant food that still appears every 19 March for the feast of San Giuseppe, and on cold evenings through the winter. Dried, peeled broad beans are cooked slowly until they fall into a thick, pale green-gold purée, scented with wild fennel and finished with a thread of peppery olive oil. It is eaten hot from the bowl with bread, or loosened with broken spaghetti; leftovers set firm and are sliced and fried. A bowl gives about 26 g of protein, almost all from the broad beans. Soak the split beans for 6–8 hours first; that time is not counted below. The most common mistake is walking away from the pot near the end: the purée thickens fast and catches on the base, which makes it taste scorched. Chef's tip: if you can't find wild fennel, use a bulb's feathery fronds plus a teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds for the same aniseed lift.
- Total time
- 115 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 14 oz dried split peeled broad beanssoaked in cold water for 6–8 hours
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 2 ⅛ oz wild fennel or fennel frondschopped
- 1 tsp fennel seedslightly crushed
- 6 cherry tomatoeshalved
- 6 ¾ cups water
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- ½ tsp black pepperfreshly ground
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain 14 oz dried split peeled broad beans and rinse them. Put them in a heavy pot with 1 onion, 2 ⅛ oz wild fennel or fennel fronds, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 6 cherry tomatoes, 6 ¾ cups water and 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
5 minStep 2: Bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then turn the heat down so it barely bubbles. Half cover and cook for about 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the beans have broken down completely.
75 minStep 3: Uncover and keep cooking for 15–20 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon and scraping the base, until the purée is thick enough to hold a soft trail when you draw the spoon through it. Add a splash of hot water if it catches.
20 minStep 4: Beat in 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp dried chilli flakes with the spoon until smooth and creamy; for a finer texture, whizz briefly with a stick blender.
Step 5: Rest for 5 minutes off the heat, then ladle into warm bowls and finish each one with the rest of 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and ½ tsp black pepper.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 510 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 24 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does macco di fave take?
- About 115 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 100 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of fennel seeds?
- Aniseeds, same amount (a stronger liquorice taste).
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