"Fava i fideus" (broad beans and noodles), a dish of the Carnivals

Bep Al·lès / Ciutadella – Today we will talk about a dish that was part of the recipe book of the kitchens of the Last Days and of the gastronomy of the Carnival, both in Menorca and also in Mallorca, where the protagonist was the dried broad bean, and that like many other dishes has a Hebrew origin and that was Christianized in the 16th and 17th centuries when the Jewish communities of the Balearic Islands were forced to embrace the Catholic faith and apostatize from their religion with the risk that if they did not do so they could run the risk of falling into the hands of the "Holy Inquisition".

The broad bean and noodles or broad beans and noodles in Menorca and, broad bean in Mallorca, is a dish that, as we have indicated, was transformed over the centuries, going from being a vegetable dish to being a dish where animal fats and pork become the complement The main character. This is a purée of broad beans with vegetables, which was eaten on the occasion of the Feast of Souccot or the Feast of the Huts, after the fasts of Kippur, and is one of the happiest festivals of the Jewish calendar, and it commemorates the huts or tents where the Jews lived after their departure from Egypt on their journey to the promised land. On this day, roast chicken is eaten as a first course and the second course is the purée of broad beans, which was also part of our gastronomy until its Christianisation with the incorporation of pork products. We can even point out that this is a dish that was not only consumed in medieval Menorca, but even during the Islamic period, because we also find it in the gastronomy treatises of the Spanish Maghreb cuisine under the name of “baysar”, considered a dish of Jewish origin, and which is cooked with lamb meat. This fact opens up a new gastronomic hypothesis, in which the "fava i fideu" originally contained lamb meat and this, as has occurred in the case of lamb empanadas (formatjades), was replaced by pork. Stews of dried broad beans are also common in Jewish communities, especially those that settled in North Africa.

In the case of Menorca, dried noodles are added to the bean purée, as well as a spoonful of lard, and pieces of sweet pork ribs, sobrasada, cuixot (camot) and blood sausage. In the past, as is done with the Mallorcan broad bean, salted pork bones were also added. Today this common ingredient in legume dishes in our cuisine has been lost, because salted pork bones are no longer preserved.

Broad beans have been consumed since time immemorial in the Mediterranean basin; They have been a staple food in times of hardship, so much so that in certain regions it is even believed that eating too much of them has caused part of the population to become allergic, especially on islands such as Menorca and Sardinia where there is an endemic disease, favism, which has been the subject of several studies.

This month of March is when we will find the first tender broad beans that will be part of our spring recipe book in the kitchen, which is when we can find them locally produced, fresh and tender with a lot of nutrients.

Tender broad beans are especially beneficial for improving blood sugar levels, so they are recommended for diabetics, as they have a low glycemic index, delaying the intestinal absorption of sugar. This largely prevents the harmful blood sugar curves that occur after eating. This effect on blood sugar is due to the fiber and protein content of legumes.

They also help improve hypertension and heart health, prevent anemia and keep bones and teeth strong, protect the nervous system and benefit mood, help control cholesterol levels, and facilitate intestinal transit, preventing constipation and helping prevent colon cancer.