Fresh, green fava beans appear in the Middle East for just a few weeks. Eat them as they are or accent another vegetable with them.
Those fat, ungainly-looking pods conceal a fleeting vegetable delicacy: fresh fava beans. Maybe it’s a good thing that the season for them is so short – it makes the work of peeling the beans worthwhile. Green favas are available frozen and peeled too, but nothing compares to the taste of fresh, locally grown ones, as all lovers of slow food know. See Karin’s philosophical approach to slow food here.
Slow-roasted tomatoes are delicious with fava beans -see our recipe for slow-roasted tomatoes. Once freed from their pods, put the beans into boiling, lightly salted water and cook them for 10-20 minutes at a simmer, until they’re as tender as you like them. The cooking adventure starts there.
You can always serve green favas on their own, with just a drizzle of butter, and salt and pepper. That’s very good. But there are other interesting things to do with them.
- Blend them with olive oil, garlic, lemon, and aragula leaves, to spread on toasted slices of bread.
- Saute the cooked beans with thin slices of red onion and garlic. Toss them with hot pasta.
For a substantial side dish or light meal, try this springtime salad.
Potato Salad with Fresh Fava Beans
Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 medium potatoes
1 cup freshly cooked green fava beans
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3 dried, re-hydrated tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped basil or mint
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
Halve and cook the potatoes in their jackets till tender.
Mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.
While the potatoes are still warm, gently mix them into the bowl.
Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
Serve warm or cold.
Enjoy!
More mouth-watering recipes on Green Prophet:
Photo by wordridden via Flickr.
Miriam also writes a food blog.
Author: Miriam Kresh
Miriam Kresh is an American ex-pat living in Israel. Her love of Middle Eastern food evolved from close friendships with enthusiastic Moroccan, Tunisian and Turkish home cooks. She owns too many cookbooks and is always planning the next meal. Miriam can be reached at miriam (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
