This simple bean stew (pronounced “fool med-am-es”) is so ubiquitous in much of the Middle East and farther afield that it’s popularly known as “the rich man’s breakfast, shopkeeper’s lunch and pauper’s supper”. Loved from Ethiopia to Iraq, its epicentre is generally acknowledged to be Egypt, where it’s widely considered to be the national dish; some date it back to the times of the pharaohs. Given the difference, and difficulty, in choosing between, say, a Palestinian ful and a Sudanese one, I will confine myself to the Egyptian variety, though even that, of course, is made differently in different parts of the country. Wherever you are, however, it is delicious enough to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
