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Fresh fava beans


IrishCream

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Why not use something in season, or even better use, say soaked and cooked dried butter beans (which are Fava beans in their winter guise)

Over here, butter beans are a type of lima bean. I've never seen favas labelled as such.

April

One cantaloupe is ripe and lush/Another's green, another's mush/I'd buy a lot more cantaloupe/ If I possessed a fluoroscope. Ogden Nash

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Why not use something in season, or even better use, say soaked and cooked dried butter beans (which are Fava beans in their winter guise)

Over here, butter beans are a type of lima bean. I've never seen favas labelled as such.

April

Is the name broad beans over here then?

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iriee - those sure aren't local favas!

balducci's has them year-around - but then again, they have canned vegetables year-aound, too!

that said, friends have said that frozen favas are amongst the best frozen vegetables - but I've never seen those. (though I do keep around frozen sugar snaps, just in case. and I always have frozen chopped spinach for making creamed spinach a la The Palm Cookbook.)

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iriee - those sure aren't local favas!

balducci's has them year-around - but then again, they have canned vegetables year-aound, too!

that said, friends have said that frozen favas are amongst the best frozen vegetables - but I've never seen those.  (though I do keep around frozen sugar snaps, just in case.  and I always have frozen chopped spinach for making creamed spinach a la The Palm Cookbook.)

I did see frozen favas at whole foods. maybe I will give them a whirl.....

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  • 1 year later...

Bumping up an old thread in favor of one of my favorites: fava beans.

Beautiful young 'uns today at the farmers' market... prepared whole with a light coating of olive oil, broiled until soft & charred, mixed with thin slices of onion, crushed red pepper & salt.

:wub:

...wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. --Alexander Pope

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...

I just did a variation of a very traditional Provencal dish - fava beans and artichokes with thyme in olive oil. It really is pretty much that. Prep your beans. I used mini artichokes and just peel the tough outer leaves, quartered them. Used some garlic, rosemary, and basil infused olive oil to cook them through until tender - be generous with the oil, added the fava beans, then quite a bit of thyme to taste.

...

Like everyone else, I hate hate hate peeling favas. It always tears up my fingers, but it's definitely worth it. There's also something satisfying about tearing the top off of the bean, squeezing it at the bottom, and popping it out of its little casing.

As for the Provencal dish, I've always done something similar, substituting oregano for thyme and throwing in a bit of stock to thicken it into a summer stew -- once it reaches the boil, it only needs to simmer for five or ten minutes to let the flavors meld. I serve it with a crusty baguette and some shaved cheese sharp enough to stand up to the favas. Last time, it was pecorino, but anything sheep-y or goat-y should do. Maybe a soft cheese: unripened chevre crumbles?

One thing I've always liked about pairing favas and artichokes is that the tangy sourness of the beans seems to match and mellow out the astringency of the artichoke. I was lately thinking that adding some milk or cream might even further subdue the mixture, since it lessens the astringency of artichokes, too. Maybe just a drizzle on top?

A final question: what do you do when your guests have never eaten fava beans before, and may or may not have the rare but fatal allergy?

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Wow, I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Foul Medammas... I'm not sure how well it would work with fresh beans, but it works so well with dry ones, why not give it a try?

Here's how to make it (it's VERY simple):

Shell & simmer beans gently in lots of salted water until VERY tender and starting to break down. Drain and toss with crushed garlic, salt, lemon juice, olive oil and some parsley. If you like you can put in a touch of smoked paprika or cumin if you feel it needs some spice.

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Michael Ruhlman writes that Thomas Keller demands that favas be shucked and then peeled completely raw. They are then cooked, in a giant pot of furiously boiling water, salted like the ocean, a handful of beans to the litre. If the water even slows a bit when the beans are thrown in, the whole thing has to be thrown away and the prep cook ritually disembowelled.

Tripe with fave? Sausages?

1) Maro--scroll down to Chufi's post (#20): a type of pesto flavored w mint. I like it w a little lemon zest as suggested by this recipe (scroll down to 2nd antipasto). Great w pasta, but also spread on crostini.

2) Vignarola, a Roman stew that is often served as a vegetarian dish (sans guanciale, etc.) w artichokes, fava beans, potatoes, onions and potatoes.

A few additional ideas from the Italian forum. Note the raw preparation as salad w slivers of fennel.

* * *

The dried fava beans are a whole 'nother story. Amazing for someone new to the ingredient to see how rapidly it disintegrates. (Discussion continues in Stevarino's thread, focussing on 'ncapriata.)

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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i did a risotto last week with the last of the spring porcini and garnished with favas. nice flavor/color combination. and using them as a garnish, i didn't have to spend 2 hours peeling them.

a trick i learned from ste. paula of wolfert: collect the husked beans in a bowl, then pour boiling water over them. when the water is cool enough to touch, the beans will be lightly cooked and easily peeled.

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We always blanch the favas before peeling the membrane off the bean because it goes about twice as fast. Yesterday I bought $18 worth of the little buggers -- four or five pounds -- and needed up with just over a pint of beans. You gotta really like thse guys to go through the effort.

In Greece, where fava beans from the island of Santorini are considered a modest source of national pride, favas are commonly pureed and served like mashed potatoes, with capers, chopped red onions (or chopped, browned shallots) a wedge of lemon and olive oil.

I'm on the pavement

Thinking about the government.

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  • 3 weeks later...

My favorite fava bean recipe is from Tom Colicchio's "Craft of Cooking'. --- The beans (after blanching and peeling) are warmed in a sauce made of a terragon tea (terragon steeped in water) and pureed favas, finished with butter and then drizzled with olive oil when served. I don't make favas too often basically because they are a lot of work but this dish is truly worth the effort.

Charles a food and wine addict - "Just as magic can be black or white, so can addictions be good, bad or neither. As long as a habit enslaves it makes the grade, it need not be sinful as well." - Victor Mollo

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Michael Ruhlman writes that Thomas Keller demands that favas be shucked and then peeled completely raw. They are then cooked, in a giant pot of furiously boiling water, salted like the ocean, a handful of beans to the litre. If the water even slows a bit when the beans are thrown in, the whole thing has to be thrown away and the prep cook ritually disembowelled.

Completely correct, Im sad to say. Spring time at TFL was a great time... except for those cases and cases and cases of fava beans. I still cringe at the sight and thought.

Anyway, just for a funny thought... I remember when I was a lowly commis working at night with TK in the commis kitchen. It was the day before a big off site party for Harold McGee at a winery. TK spent all night PERSONALLY shucking, peeling, blanching, shocking, puree'ing, passing, and finishing a fava bean farce used for agnolotti. He gave me the bags filled with the farce to cryovac.

So at this point, Im freaking out just because I dont want to screw up. Now I've used the cryo machine before with fluids and was confident everything was going to b OK. So I put 2 bags in, turned it down to 1.5, shut lid and closed the doors to the cabinet. I came back a few minutes later to the entire machine and cabinet COVERED in perfect bright green fava bean farce. After 20 minutes of being yelled at by one of the greatest chefs in the country everything was just peachy. I think a tear might have come loose that night. lol. Damn fava beans.........

Back on subject, a cold salad of fava beans, rendered pancetta, frisee, and thin sliced pecorino is heaven for me on a hot spring day.

-Chef Johnny

John Maher
Executive Chef/Owner
The Rogue Gentlemen

Richmond, VA

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i usually just peel and eat them. yummy. just remember to peel twice, teh green part, and the white membrany stuff.

another thing to do with them is use them instead of peas in your favorite rice dish (paella, jambalaya, rice pilaf...)

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green beans would taste very differnt from the dry ones. i don't know, i would probably enjoy it but my brain would keep telling me, where's the real foul?

and would the green beans breakdown like the dry ones?

i have seen green bean salad done like that. cook beans (after peeling of course) lightly, cool down, mix in garlic, salt, lemon olive oil and parsley. yummy but definitely NOT foul.

Wow, I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Foul Medammas... I'm not sure how well it would work with fresh beans, but it works so well with dry ones, why not give it a try?

Here's how to make it (it's VERY simple):

Shell & simmer beans gently in lots of salted water until VERY tender and starting to break down. Drain and toss with crushed garlic, salt, lemon juice, olive oil and some parsley. If you like you can put in a touch of smoked paprika or cumin if you feel it needs some spice.

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  • 1 month later...

I had to post this to give myself credit for the **hour** that I spent shelling and peeling my fava beans: quick blanched here on top of ricotta and a garlic-rubbed baguette, and topped with basil and kosher salt. As you can see, a few still escaped the peeling process (what can I say... I was peeling the favas, drinking wine, and watching a movie all at the same time).

gallery_19995_4798_958340.jpg

...wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. --Alexander Pope

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Clotilde Dusoulier has a lovely fava-and-fresh-mint frittata that I make every time I see favas in the market. Peeling be damned, the creamy egg and nubbly favas complement each other incredibly.

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A final question: what do you do when your guests have never eaten fava beans before, and may or may not have the rare but fatal allergy?

I was about to ask about the "favism" issue, here in Greece fava is very rarely eaten just cooked, apparently if you cook the beans for a long time they become safe to eat, but then again favism tend to affect Mediterranean countries if I'm not mistaken :blink:

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  • 8 months later...

I found fresh fava beans at my local "farmer's market". I would like to make a middle eastern dish with them that I've had before, though I'm open to suggestions for other dishes. The one I'm thinking of had some kind of lemony sauce, maybe with tahini or yogurt. It was so good I wanted to lick the plate. I think it was made with dried fava beans.... can I use fresh in place? Is there some other prep that would make these little jewels shine?

Here is what I think I know about prep:

Boil for a few min until pods are easily opened, then cool. Peel each individual bean...... then they are ready?

I'd love some advice!

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You can make a lovely fava spread from these: cook till tender, in food processor or similar blend with garlic, oilive oil, lemon juice and some chili flakes and even add some tahini if you'd like. Play around, have fun and make your own special spread.

To cook fava's you could either pre-blanch then peel, or if you want to cook and serve them whole they retain the color much better if they are pre-peeled first. Though pre-peeling is a lot harder fyi, yet in the long run better looking.

edit**

something just jolted in my head; can use this simple yet delicious recipe we once did at a restaurant i worked at

fava bean bruscetta:

batard bread or any thick yummy crusty bread: toast and rub with garlic- ~1" thick

take about 1/4 cup cooked fava's, couple sprigs of blanched fresh tarragon and puree together, thin out with stock (or better yet, the blanching tarragon water)

melt some fontina cheese (2oz)

take toast, spread cheese on bottom, fava spread on top of that, then finish with some fresh beans and some taragon sprgs.

Edited by stealw (log)
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There are two stages to preparing fresh fava beans.

Step one is taking the beans out of the pods. This requires no blanching.

Step two is removing the skin from the individual beans. This is most easily accomplished by blanching the beans in copious boiling water for several seconds, and then shocking in ice water. It is then easy to remove the skin by making a slit in the skin and squeezing out each individual bean. The goal is to cook the fava bean as little as possible, so that they retain their texture and best flavor.

Watch out for that glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, though! :wink:

--

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Two Levant dishes:

1- Fava Beans Stew

Fava Beans 500gms

Green Coriander

1 onion choped

Garlic chopped (5-10)

250gms cubed meat

Oil or Samneh

S&P

Beef stock

Colour the onions, follow with the garlic, seal the meat add stock and slow cook until tender.

Add Fava Beans and chopped Coriander at the end to doneness.

2- Fava Beans in Oil

Fava Beans 500gms

Green Coriander

1 onion chopped

Garlic chopped (5-10)

125ml olive oil (mix extra virgin with second pressing)

S&P

Colour onions and garlic in Olive oil. Add Beans and fresh chopped Coriander on high heat, reduce heat until cooked to doneness.

Cool in same pot to room temp. Refrigerate and eat the second day if you can wait.

Enjoy!

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