ABOUT THE PLANT

Foul is a legume that has been eaten in Palestine and across the region for milennia. Vivien Sansour recounted that charred foul was found in the Galilee in northern Palestine in an archaeological dig. The foul dated back eleven thousand years and predates even the cultivation of other staple crops like wheat and barley.

PLANTING AND HARVESTING NOTES

Foul does best when planted in the late fall/early winter time. Ideal time for planting is in October, just before the first rains. You can soak in water overnight before planting to help with germination.

Foul is one that likes to be direct seeded and also needs no irrigation (unless you have a dry winter). Planting depth is about an inche (a good rule of thumb for planting seeds is to plant to the depth of the size of the seed). Plant seeds 4-6 inches apart in rows 18-36 inches apart. You can thin plants to 8 inches apart. If growing for seed, thin to 12-18 inches apart.

Harvest in early spring to eat fresh or you can harvest and freeze to extend the fresh foul season in your house. If you want to save the foul dry, then you’ll want to leave the seeds pods on the plant until they dry out, making sure to keep the dry seed pods dry i.e. if rains are coming then you would want to bring the plants to a dry place. Once fully dried, you can collect the beans and store. They have an incredible shelf life of years if stored properly.

SEED KEEPING NOTES

Select the plants/seed pods that you would like to save for seed and let them stay on the plant until they are dry. If rains are an issue, you can cut the entire plant and let dry indoors or in a greenhouse. Fava beans are prone to weevil infestations, so once your seeds are collected, you can put them in the freezer for several days to make sure the pests are no longer in your seeds.

RECIPES/FOOD PREP

There are so many ways that people prepare foul, and one of the more popular ways is as a dip eaten at breakfast. The dip is prepared with garlic and topped with a type of salsa made from finely chopped onions, hot peppers, lemon, salt and olive oil and then eaten with fresh bread.

When prepared fresh as foul akhdar or green foul, so it is eaten whole, with the pods. The foul is strung, like a green bean, chopped and sauteed with onions and garlic and cilantro and lemon are added once done cooking.