Fava beans

Any other fava fans here?

I make a fava spread that's good on baguette slices or as a bruschetta topping.

Herbed Fava Spread

2 cups shucked, blanched, and shelled fava beans
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil
Water
Rosemary (leaves from one small sprig and an additional whole sprig)
4 sage leaves, chopped
Fresh thyme leaves to taste
2 ounces ham, in 1/2 cubes

Step 1 (can be done a day ahead)
Using a small frying pan, sauté garlic in a small amount of oil. Add 1 cup of favas (reserve remainder for step 2), rosemary leaves from the small sprig, sage, thyme, and just enough water to keep the beans from sticking. Cook on low for about ten minutes or until favas are soft. Remove from heat. Purée. Set aside to cool or refrigerate.

Step 2
In a large frying pan sauté the ham cubes for a few minutes then add the reserved favas and whole rosemary. Add just enough water to keep the mix from sticking. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Remove rosemary sprig. Add puréed favas, mix well. Cover and remove from heat. Ready to eat once it cools to room temperature. Yield two cups.

We use this as a Bruschetta topping or as a cracker spread. I've made it without ham, substituting a 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder and some salt to compensate for the flavor loss.

Romans are big on them as fresh beans in the spring, and ground dried favas are used in Egypt(?)IIRC to make felafel.

In the U.S. they are used as a cover crop to fix nitrogen in the soil. In California they are the perfect winter crop to plant in the fall and ignore until harvest.

legume is OK but I just don't care for white beans :shrug:

maybe favas would change my mind......

and I wanted to try them, but didn't know what to do with them.

I love lima beans though.

Are they good just boiled and buttered?

The pods are huge -- do you have to boil them in the pod first before shucking?

If the beans are bigger than your thumbnail, blanch for about 5 minutes or less if the skins start to split. Strain out of the boiling water and pop in a bowl of ice water to cool, then squeeze the tender green bean out of the skin. At this point they're usually read to eat, but if not you can saute them in some butter for a few minutes.

It sounds like a lot of work but I start with a big bagful and process them all in one operation, then freeze the excess in portion-size bags. The future meals are easy that way.

They take well to any Mediterranean seasoning. I've made salad with cooked favas, peas, and lettuce topped with a slightly sweet vinaigrette. Sometimes I add feta cheese.