page_title: Vicia faba
section_title: Malta
hierarchical_section_title: Vicia faba / Culinary uses / Malta
caption_attribution_description: English: Traditional Maltese Kusksu (Fava Bean Soup)
context_page_description: Vicia faba, also known in the culinary sense as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is of uncertain origin and widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption. It is also used as a cover crop. Varieties with smaller, harder seeds that are fed to horses or other animals are called field bean, tic bean or tick bean. Horse bean, Vicia faba var. equina Pers., is a variety recognized as an accepted name.
  Some people suffer from favism, a hemolytic response to the consumption of broad beans, a condition linked to a metabolism disorder known as G6PDD. Otherwise the beans, with the outer seed coat removed, can be eaten raw or cooked. In young plants, the outer seed coat can be eaten, and in very young plants, the seed pod can be eaten.
context_section_description: They are a primary ingredient of the Maltese kusksu, a vegetable soup primarily containing fava beans and pasta beads. They are also used in an appetizer called bigilla where they are served as a pureé mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and mint. It is served with bread or crackers and is the Maltese version of hummus.
caption: Broad beans are synonymous with Maltese kusksu
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