The fava bean is the same bean as the broad bean — Vicia faba, the large, flat-seeded legume of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking. Known as broad bean in Britain and fava across much of the world, it is among the oldest cultivated crops, eaten fresh in spring, dried for year-round use, and split for soups and stews. Ful medames, the Egyptian breakfast of slow-cooked favas, is the dish that made the bean famous; Italian fave e cicoria and the Levantine mezzes show its range. Nutritionally it brings protein, fibre, folate, and iron in a low-fat package. One caution attaches: people with G6PD deficiency can suffer favism, the acute haemolysis the bean triggers — the ancient food with a genetic shadow, and a reminder that even staple crops demand respect.