The first time I heard of fava beans was when Hannibal Lector said, “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti,” in Silence of The Lambs. Kind of turned me off of them. Then I heard that fava beans are difficult to prepare because they need to be shelled twice – once from the pod and another time to remove the membrane around the bean. Sounded like a lot of work.
A fresh load of favas arrived at our market and I just couldn’t resist giving them a shot. I’m not gonna sugar-coat this – there’s a lot of manual labor involved in getting those luscious green beautiful beans ready to eat. But they are worth it!!! The beans are tender and sweet – super delicious! I made a simple dressing of lemon and cilantro – a nice complement to the beans without overshadowing them.
Due to the amount of work involved, favas are definitely a “special occasion” type of recipe. You might be tempted to use frozen fava beans to cut out the labor, but I don’t recommend it. The vibrant green color of fresh favas will really stand out and look fabulous on your buffet table!
2 cups shelled fava beans (about 2 pounds worth in the pods)
2 cups green beans (cut into 1-inch lengths)
2 cups wax beans (cut into 1-inch lengths)
1/2 cup red onion (thinly sliced)
Dressing Ingredients
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon agave or honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Wash and cut the green beans and wax beans. Set aside.
- Place all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until cilantro is finely chopped. Chill in the refrigerator.
- Remove the fava beans from the pods. I found the easiest way is to use a paring knife to cut a slit in the seam at the top of the pod, then slide your thumb nail along the seam to split it in half. The pods yield 4 – 6 beans.
- Blanch the beans in boiling, salted water for 1 minute. I suggest placing them in a sieve or colander so they can be easily removed. A slotted spoon can also be used. Keep the water boiling.
- Immediately place the beans in an ice bath or under cold running water to stop the cooking process.
- Peel the membrane away from the beans. I find it easiest to use a paring knife to make a slit along the curved edge of the bean and squeeze the membrane to pop out the bean. Just be careful to not push so hard that the bean breaks in half – which is easy to do.
- Place the fava beans back in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Then add in the wax and green beans and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes until the green beans are bright green in color. Drain off the hot water and run under cold water or place in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain thoroughly.
- Serve immediately with the dressing. The dressing can either be pre-mixed into the salad, or allow your guests to drizzle it over their salad.
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