Fava Beans
Fava beans are pretty silly. Did you know that?
To prepare them, first you get the pale green beans out of the big fuzzy pods – you get relatively few from a big bunch of pods:
So you look at that and think “well, maybe that’s not so bad. But it turns out that those pale green beans are really tasty bright green beans in a pretty much inedible pale shell. And to get them out you need to boil the beans for about 5 minutes, then cool them in cold water, and then peal them. And next you get an even smaller amount of food:
Well, now you can start making your recipe. Here is one I like a lot:
Fava Bean Spread
(From Vegetables Everyday by Jack Bishop)
- 1 lb of fava beans, unshelled
- 1 small spring onion, minced
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1/8 cup water
1) Prepare the beans as secribed above
2) Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and saute the onion until browned, about 5 minutes
3) Add the beans and salt to taste. Toss the beans to coat with oil. Add water, and simmer uncovered for 3-5 minutes until the beans are tender.
4) Add the cooked mixture to a food processor and pulse until it forms a coarse paste, adding additional olive oil as needed
Spread over bread or crostini.
