Category: Fava Beans

When you have young/small fava beans you can eat the whole pod, either grilled or just seared in a heavy skillet, in this case alongside some shelled ones and garlic scapes and scallions. The whole pod gets tender and when well seasoned with salt and lemon, is just delicious. You can cook them all whole or shell a few for contrast and fun-either way is delicious.... Read more »

  When fava beans get bigger and starchier,  towards the end of the season, make this delicious spread. Egyptians and other areas of the Middle East make a dish called ful medames with dried fava beans that have been soaked and cooked. This is a very loose adaptation of this dish.   You can easily scale this up or down. Use whatever you have. It will disappear!... Read more »

I made this dish with favas that were on the bigger side and the bright parsley oil enlivened the sweet, starchy beans. You can certainly omit the bacon and just add a little more olive oil to the pan. And if you have a handful of basil leaves by all means add them or substitute basil for parsley if that's all you have. ... Read more »

You can use snap or snow peas instead of shelling peas or omit them or omit the favas or substitute sliced green beans. All of those variations, and I'm sure many others, are excellent. It's a simple, fresh salad that is good warm or at room temperature and can be added to--hardboiled egg, tuna, other herbs, scallions, etc.   Serves 4  ... Read more »

I put this salad together on a whim after I splurged on a beautiful Dungeness crab. I had both fava beans and shelling peas on hand but either or is fabulous too. And you could substitute canned Oregon Albacore for the crab or bay shrimp or omit entirely or add chopped hardboiled egg or no additional protein at all. Adapt to your tastes/what you have on hand. ... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_13598" align="aligncenter" width="660"] This version included lots of garlic scapes and fava beans but no peas. It's a good template to use what you have.[/caption] This is a classic Italian preparation for a variety of spring/early summer vegetables and here's a version with peas and pea shoots. You can toss it with pasta or gnocchi, topped with some aged pecorino or Parmesan or enjoy as a side with fish or meat or egg dishes. ... Read more »

  --adapted from Tender by Nigel Slater   This is to me a perfect salad. Sometime you may be lucky enough to have both favas and shelling peas in your share so then you can make this!  ... Read more »

–inspired by Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan   I heavily adapted this dish from Dorie Greenspan’s wonderful book Around my French Table a few years ago with cauliflower and then I made it with Brussels sprouts and bacon and then with winter squash and sage. I remembered the technique when I had 25 minutes to get dinner on the table and happened to have fava beans, new potatoes, and basil on hand. It was fantastic.   Finally, as cookbook author Dorie Greenspan notes, “this is risotto” the way that finely sliced apples are carpaccio, which means not at all. . .” but the technique is just enough reminiscent of risotto that I appreciate the reference and continue to use it. My version might not be recognizable to Dorie but it’s a keeper in our household.  ... Read more »

 This is a beautiful and delicious dish. And it’s a nice way to stretch those precious beans that always seem so few after you’ve shelled them. If you don't use the bacon you can scatter the finished bruschetta with some chopped mint.  Shell enough favas to measure 1 ½ cups of beans and cook them in salted boiling water for about 5-6 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Pinch the skins off each bean and set beans aside.... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_10283" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Fava beans with mashed garlic and lemon juice.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_10284" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Fava beans with mashed garlic, lemon and orzo pasta.[/caption] Fava Beans with Pecorino and Prosciutto A classic way to prepare fava beans in Italy is to simply serve them, just tender with a young pecorino (sheep's cheese) and slices of prosciutto or salami, good bread and olive oil. The vibrant green beans, prosciutto and almost white cheese are the colors of the Italian flag and striking on a plate, not to mention delicious.   For the above preparation, remove the beans from the pods and cook them in salted, boiling water for about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water for a minute and then pinch the skins off each bean. Arrange the beans, cheese and meat on a platter. Drizzle the beans with a little olive oil and a bit more sea salt. Enjoy with our without good, crusty bread.... Read more »

-- adapted from Food52.com   You can simplify this recipe and just grill them with olive oil and salt and finish with a squeeze of lemon with the same method. But the addition of rosemary, garlic, hot pepper and anchovies is pretty fantastic.  And it seems like a lot of anchovies but it is well balanced. And if you don’t have a grill, a smoking hot cast iron pan works too—just turn your fan on high and open the windows.   Serves 4 ... Read more »

--adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi   These are a bit of work but are so delicious and pretty and combine typical CSA share ingredients--fava beans, beet greens/chard/spinach and potatoes.   Serves 4... Read more »

This is best with small, young, tender pods. ... Read more »

Fava beans are eaten in Italy as well as in much of the Middle East and in India and South and Central America. They are consumed both dry and fresh and I am focusing on the latter here. They are tender, sweet and starchy and satisfying in many different preparations.     Fava beans are delicious in a salad or blended into hummus. You can also make them into a puree and especially later in the season when the beans are a little bigger, cook them until tender and puree with a little garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and you'll have a delicious spread   No need to peel: Typically Americans think the beans have to be removed from their big squishy pods and then blanch them and then pinch the skin that remains off each individual bean. You can do this and some of the recipes here suggest you do but it's not necessary. If the beans are fairly small you don't need to slip of the skin after blanching the beans (Italians' rarely do).  An Iranian method has you boil the entire pod in heavily salted water until the pods fall apart (about 30 minutes). The individual beans practically fall out once you drain the pods and the skin around each bean is so tender you need not remove it. Fava beans lose their beautiful bright green color with this method but they taste delicious and are suitable for dips, soups, stews, sauces and salads. You can also grill favas in their pods eating the pods as well as the beans if the pods are on the young/small side.  ... Read more »