🥣 Bissara (fava bean soup)

Name: Bissara (fava bean soup)
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Morocco · North Africa
Ingredients: 300 g dried split fava beans, soaked for 4 hours; 4 garlic cloves; 1.5 litres water; 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp sweet paprika; 4 tbsp olive oil; Salt, and chilli flakes to serve

Origin: Morocco · North Africa

390kcal

per serving · 300 g

130kcal

per 100 g

18 gProtein6 g / 100 g

16 gFat5.5 g / 100 g

42 gCarbs14 g / 100 g

Bissara is a thick Moroccan soup of dried split fava beans simmered with garlic until they collapse, then blended smooth and seasoned with cumin and paprika. It is earthy, creamy without any dairy, and warming. It is served steaming in bowls with a generous swirl of olive oil and an extra pinch of cumin and paprika on top.

Diets

✓

Vegetarianno meat or fish in a typical recipe

✓

Veganno meat, fish or animal products in a typical recipe

✓

No pork

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not keto14 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.

What it is made of

fava beansgarliccuminolive oilpaprika

Recipe

4 servings70 min

Ingredients

300 g dried split fava beans, soaked for 4 hours
4 garlic cloves
1.5 litres water
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sweet paprika
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt, and chilli flakes to serve

Method

Drain the beans and put them in a pot with the garlic and water.
Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer for 50–60 minutes until the beans are very soft.
Blend until smooth, adding hot water if it is too thick.
Stir in half the cumin and paprika and season with salt.
Serve in bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and the remaining spices on top.

How to make it lighter

The olive oil is the main extra: 1 tsp per bowl instead of 1 tbsp saves about 80 kcal.
Thin the soup with a little more water — the volume rises and the taste stays bold.
The beans are filling on their own, so a bowl works as a full breakfast.

History

Bissara is an old dish of North Africa and Egypt, where dried fava beans have long been a cheap everyday staple. In Morocco it is especially popular as a winter breakfast, sold from street stalls and small cafés in cities such as Fez and Marrakesh. In Egypt a related green version, besara, is made with fava beans and herbs.

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Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →