Bagilla with spring beans and marjoram

Bagilla, a humble fava bean stew, is a traditional Maltese dish that reflects the island’s deep Arabic influence. Simple yet nourishing, it’s often enjoyed as a comforting breakfast or light meal with crusty bread.

Credit: Josh Martin

• serves

  4

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

Bagilla

• 125 g fava beans (dried broad beans)
• 25 g garlic cloves roughly chopped 
• 150 ml extra-virgin olive oil (amount of oil may change depending on how soft the beans are) 
• 25 ml good-quality sherry vinegar 
• 7 ½ g of sea salt, to taste
• ½ g cayenne pepper (or Spanish smoked paprika) 
• 1 tbsp fel fel  
• ½ g fresh marjoram 

Bean salad

• 160 g fresh broad beans 
• 40 g pickled white onions from a jar, cut into halves and sliced (or freshly diced shallots)
• Salt, to taste
• 80 ml olive oil
• 1 twig fresh marjoram, leaves only
• zest of 1 whole lemon

To serve

• A sprinkle of fresh marjoram leaves
• A couple of mint leaves, finely sliced 
• freshly grated lemon zest, to taste

You will need to start this recipe 1 day ahead.

Soaking time: overnight

Instructions

1. To make the bagilla, soak fava beans overnight in four times the amount of water. In the morning, wash the beans and rinse under cold water.
2. Add the beans to a pot with fresh water, at least five or six times the amount of beans to water – no salt needed. Bring the beans to boil and boil for 30 minutes, skimming any scum off the top along the way, until they become super soft and breaking apart. Strain and rinse the beans and give them a quick rinse.
3. Set a large handful of cooked fava beans aside for the salad. Add the remaining beans into a food processor with the garlic. Start to purée, pouring in olive oil to loosen it up and pulverising as needed. When it starts spinning freely you know it has enough moisture.
4. To the food processor, add sherry vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper, fel fel and marjoram. Blend again for about 9 minutes, or until the dip becomes a very wet and light puree.
5. Transfer to a container and store in fridge; serve cold.
6. For the salad, prepare a bowl of iced water for blanching the broad beans. Remove broad beans from pods. In a small pot, bring water to the boil and add broad beans, cooking for about 20 to 30 seconds then scooping them out (reserve the water) and add the beans into the iced water.
7. Shell the broad beans while they are in the water, so they have time to cool down and stay green; once they have been blanched, set aside in a separate bowl.
8. Peel the skins off the fava beans that have been set aside, and combine with the broad beans in the mixing bowl. Gently toss through the pickled onions, salt, olive oil, fresh marjoram and lemon zest.
9. For the dressing, combine olive oil, salt and cracked pepper and whisk. Set aside.
10. If the bagilla is too thick, return to the food processor and add some olive oil to loosen it up if necessary.
11. Mix the dressing through the bean salad.
12. To plate, use a small serving bowl approximately 20 cm diameter. Place the bagilla in the middle of the bowl, scatter over the bean salad and garnish with marjoram leaves and mint.
    

Watch how to make this recipe on Episode 4 of Shane Delia’s Malta, streaming free on SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Shane Delia's Malta

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series • 

Travel

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