bigilla

Bigilla.
Maltese broad bean dip.
Or, as I like to call it, "I'm dipping carbs into beans and I don't feel bad about it".

 Having friends over? Bigilla is the perfect appetizer. No friends? These tasty beans won't judge.

Seriously, bigilla is a healthy dip. And not healthy as in eat-a-bowl-of-hummus-and-have-smelly-chickpea-gas. For this, I am happy. I ate this a lot in Malta, either in restaurants or at relatives' houses as part of the dragon-sized hors d'oeuvres spread us Europeans love.

Bean terminology:
Broad beans: you can also call me fava beans. I sort of look like a lima bean.
Tic beans: I'm not sure excactly how I differ from a broad bean, I'm just smaller with a hard shell (but am a sensitive bean on the inside).
Butter bean: I'm a lima bean.

Bigilla uses broad beans or tic beans. If you can't find these fresh or dried, butter beans can be a substitute. They are even lighter on your belly, meaning you should probably eat double the amount. Soak and drain the beans if they are dried first. Then, cook them in boiling water and drain them. You can remove the thin shells that are sliding off the bean if you want, too. Next, mash them with parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne or tabasco. Feeling adventurous? Add a little marjoram and mint.

Serve with crackers, breadsticks, or spread on toast.

Dip away, friends. Because nobody knows you like carbs and beans do.

Cooking tunes: nosnow/noalps "Far Into the Night". This song by indie-maltese-rockers is worth watching if solely for the use of key-tar.