Bigilla: Tic Bean Dip
This dip closely resembles Egyptian ful. The Sacco family operate a bigilla van touring towns of Malta most afternoons, selling the paste warm from the back of the vehicle. If the van is close you will hear it, with the driver yelling ‘bigilla’ over a megaphone. Tradition suggests the dip is served warm with chopped parsley and chilli oil at your discretion (or you can use olive oil if you don’t want the spice). Galletti or warm bread is mandatory on the side. Bigilla also happens to be delicious cold, keeps well, and can even be used to stuff artichokes. Tic beans are known in Malta as djerba – they are a smaller, darker bean than broad (fava) beans, and are sometimes called field or horse beans. Short of finding tic beans, you can use whole dried broad (fava) beans. The beans will need to be soaked overnight.
Ingredients 6
250 g dried tic beans, soaked overnight, drained, rinsed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1⁄2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (italian parsley), chopped
To Garnish
2 tsp chilli flakes
80 ml olive oil
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (Italian parsley), chopped
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Method 4
Drain and rinse the soaked and tip into a large saucepan. Cover with fresh water (at least 5 times the volume of the beans) and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and scoop any foam from the surface. Loosely cover the pan with a lid and let the beans simmer for about 1 3⁄4 hours until soft, topping up the water if needed.
Meanwhile, prepare the chilli oil for the garnish by toasting the 2 tsp in a pan and adding the when the chilli is fragrant. Remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl or jar to infuse.
When the are soft, scoop out a cup of the cooking water and drain the beans. Put the beans in a food processor, together with 3 tablespoons of cooking water, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 garlic clove (crushed), 1⁄2 tsp chilli flakes, and 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley. Pulse until you have a paste. Add more water if the dip seems too thick.
To serve, scoop the dip into a bowl and garnish with the prepared and 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley.
Simon Bajada's tips
Short of finding tic beans, you can use whole dried broad (fava) beans.
