Maltese Bigilla
A thick dip of dried broad beans with garlic, olive oil, parsley, and chilli. Serve it cold or slightly warm with bread or crackers.
Bigilla is a Maltese appetiser made from mashed dried broad beans. This version serves 4; allow about 10 minutes of active preparation, 2 hours of cooking, and 24 hours of cold soaking.
Ingredient allergens
Allergen listThere are no verified associations for these ingredients yet.
Method
- 01
Soak the beans
Rinse the beans and soak them in enough cold water to cover, in the refrigerator, for 24 hours. Then drain and rinse them.
Ready to continue when: The beans have soaked in the refrigerator for 24 hours and are drained and rinsed.
1440 min - 02
Cook the beans
Put the beans in a pot with 750 ml of water. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, cover, and simmer for about 2 hours. Check that they are very soft and crush easily; if they are still firm, continue cooking until they are.
Ready to continue when: The beans are very soft and crush easily when pressed.
120 min - 03
Drain and mash
Before draining the beans, reserve a little cooking water. Drain them and mash or briefly pulse them with the olive oil, salt, garlic, 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes, and 1/2 tablespoon of parsley. Gradually add reserved cooking water until you have a thick paste.
Ready to continue when: A thick paste has formed, the beans are mashed, and no water is pooling at the bottom.
8 min - 04
Finish and serve
Transfer the bigilla to a bowl and finish with the remaining tablespoon of parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes, and the fresh chilli, finely diced. Serve cold or slightly warm with bread or crackers.
Ready to continue when: The surface is garnished with parsley and chilli, and the bigilla is ready to serve.
2 min
Ingredients
Sources and review
Content researched, cross-checked and automatically validated. Sources consulted:
- Higiene de los alimentos www.aesan.gob.es/seguridad-alimentaria/higiene-alimentos
- La Seguridad Alimentaria www.aesan.gob.es/dam/jcr:d4d7784a-9ca8-46d6-be84-25d7b5dedae6/seguridad_edu_secundaria.pdf
- A Review of Traditional, Time-Honoured Foods and Recipes: To Choose to Use or Not to Use | OpenAlex openalex.org/W4414609765
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- Traditional Maltese Recipes, Sunday Lunch & Seasonal Classics www.malteserecipes.com/
- Realization of Geocentric Datum for Nepal: Ingredients, Recipe and the Cooking | Journal on Geoinformatics, Nepal doi.org/10.3126/njg.v19i1.50969
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- Descubre Malta a través de sus recetas tradicionales. gastroystyle.com/descubre-malta-a-traves-de-sus-recetas-tradicionales/
- Biltong - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltong
- Comida típica de Malta, una curiosa fusión anglo-italiana y tunecina - Barceló Experiences www.barcelo.com/guia-turismo/es/malta/malta/que-ver/comida-tipica-de-malta/
- Dakos - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakos
- Bigilla Recipe – Maltese Broad Bean Dip with Garlic www.malteserecipes.com/recipes/bigilla/
- Traditional Maltese Bigilla and Galletti | Apron & Whisk www.google.com/goto?gsessionid=-ykxRcZJqgc8Tv7WTlbUVzVHXisTYivUOG_5tjWrJjYN1-P4LpTPmA&url=CA…
- Bigilla - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigilla
- Hummus de frijoles o Bigilla - Recetas deliciosas www.gzrecipes.com/es/ritaamordicucina/hummus-de-frijoles-o-bigilla/
- Traditional Maltese Bigilla and Galletti | Apron & Whisk www.google.com/goto?url=CAESfgHrOzAVzHjnBxpSN75g5uj2ocLMGFwjBneCXISFXUm14rwCzp9D9ng0IwWx41T5…
State: Published after documentary validation; no “Tested” label is shown.