Foul Mudammas

Serves 6-8
Vegan

WTF is foul mudammas? I will tell you. Imagine baked beans, but savory and lemony and not at all American. Foul is Egyptian, in fact, and it can be served as a meal or alongside hummus, tabouli, and Jerusalem salad, and pita bread for a Middle Eastern feast. I especially like this dish because I always have the ingredients on hand and can make it in short notice for almost any occasion.

1 yellow onion, chopped
1 head of garlic, cleaned and chopped
olive oil
1 can of white beans
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 can of butter beans / lima beans
28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes
a few tablespoons of tomato paste
a few glugs of your favorite vegetable stock
the zest and juice of 3-4 lemons
a few tablespoons of tahini (sesame seed paste)
salt and pepper
dried cumin
a bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

In a large pot, sauté the onions and garlic in some olive oil until golden. While the onions and garlic cook, drain all of the beans in a colander and rinse with water. Also, open the can of tomatoes and the can of tomato paste.

Add the beans to the pot and stir. Now comes the messy part. Remove one tomato from the can of whole peeled tomatoes and squish it into the pot. No, there is really no better way to do this. Yes, you COULD just use the already diced or otherwise mutilated tomatoes in the can, but they never have as much flavor or texture as the whole ones. Trust me on this one. If you have kids, make their day and get them to do this part. Continue to squish all of the tomatoes into the pot, and then pour any remaining liquid from the can into the pot as well.

Add a few tablespoons of tomato paste to the pot and stir. If you desire a more tomatoey flavor or color, continue to add more paste to taste. Add some veggie stock as well to thin everything out. Add the zest and juice of the lemons, a few tablespoons of tahini,, a bunch of salt and pepper, some dried cumin, and a bunch of fresh, chopped parley, all to taste. Stir.

Let the mixture cook for another 5 minutes or so. TASTE IT! Continue to add more seasonings, herbs, or tahini until you like the way it tastes.