BIGILLA

Bigilla

BIGILLA

#SIAintheKitchen

Move over, hummus. Bigilla is here.

Still on a high from my trip to Malta earlier this year, I had a Malta-themed party to close off the summer and tried my hand at making a number of Maltese appetizers and snacks. Since I had some vegans coming to the party, I obviously didn’t want them to starve so I opted to throw a couple vegan-friendly dishes in there.

Bigilla is made from broad beans, or also otherwise popularly known as fava beans, blended together with herbs and olive oil. All the recipes I’ve read have mentioned using fresh broad beans but since it’s autumn, that isn’t exactly possible! Canned broad beans are pretty easy to find in the city I opted for that instead. Parsley and mint are thrown into the mix as well as some capers for some added saltiness.

When I was in Malta, this dip was always served with water biscuits, with one of the crackers sitting erect in th dip for presentation - it’s a must! Serve with pickled vegetables, olives, Maltese sausage and tomato bread for a complete Maltese appetizer platter!

BIGILLA - serves 4 (adapted from A Maltese Mouthful)

  • 1 (580ml) can broad/fava beans, drained

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1/2 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley

  • 1/4 cup fresh mint, leaves only

  • 2 tbsp capers

  • 1 tsp dried red chili flakes

  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano

  • 1 lemon, juice only

  • 1 tsp kosher salt

  • freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, extra for garnish

  1. In a food processor, blend all ingredients in a food processor while slowly drizzling in the olive oil until smooth and creamy. Serve with additional olive oil drizzled on top and with water biscuits.

MALTESE, PLANT-BASEDStephanie Siasiainhekitchen, sia in the kitchen, vegan, bean dip, broad beans, broad bean dip, fava beans, fava bean dip, maltese food, bigilla, maltese bean dip, vegan bean dipComment