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Bigilla

Name: Bigilla
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Malta
Ingredients: 300g (frozen, peeled) Fava Beans; 2 cloves Garlic; 1 Red Chili Pepper; A pinch Parsley; A pinch Fresh mint leaves; 3 tbsp Olive oil; 1 tbsp Lemon juice; 1/2 tsp Salt; To taste Bread

Side Dish

⏱ 20 min

👥 Serves 4

Difficulty ⭐

Fava beans mashed with garlic, chili, and olive oil — Malta's traditional bean dip.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Bigilla is a fava bean dip eaten in Malta since long ago, made by mashing boiled fava beans with garlic, chili, herbs, and olive oil. It was once sold from street carts but is now indispensable on Maltese starter platters. It's eaten on crackers called galletti.

🌆 Where it's eaten: At a seaside restaurant in Malta, a small dish of brown bean dip sits on the starter platter alongside olives and cheese.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 4)

Fava Beans 300g (frozen, peeled)
Garlic 2 cloves
Red Chili Pepper 1
Parsley A pinch
Fresh mint leaves A pinch
Olive oil 3 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Bread To taste

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Boil the fava beans until soft and remove the skins.
Finely chop the garlic, chili, parsley, and mint.
Mash the beans with a fork or in a food processor.
Add the chopped ingredients, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and mix.
Spoon into a dish, drizzle with olive oil, and serve with bread or crackers.

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