Fasoolia

Fasoolia is an Iraqi stew of lamb and white beans, simmered slowly in a tomato sauce. It is a home-style main course, and the name is also written Fasoolya.

The beans and the meat cook together in one pot, so the lamb flavours the sauce and the beans take on its richness. The sauce is built on onion, garlic and cumin, and it is the sauce that makes the dish.

What it really is

Pieces of lamb are browned and then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin in a tomato sauce. White beans go in and cook slowly until they are soft, while the sauce reduces and thickens around them. Cooks vary the cut of lamb, the amount of tomato and how thick the finished stew is, so no two pots are exactly alike. Fasoolia is a braise of beans and meat, not a bean side with a little meat added.

How it's served

• Hot, in a deep bowl, with the lamb and beans spooned out along with their tomato sauce.
• With rice or flatbread, which takes up the sauce.
• As a main course on its own. Rice or bread is a separate item and should be listed as one.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the protein as lamb, and say whether it is bone-in or boneless.
• Name the white beans and the tomato base, since these are the two parts guests look for.
• Flag allergens: the stew itself contains no declarable allergen in its classic form, but the flatbread served with it contains wheat.
• State the portion size and whether rice or bread is included in the price.
• If you add chilli or other spices beyond the classic onion, garlic and cumin, name them so guests with a heat preference can choose.