MINESTRONE WITH FAVA BEANS
2 cups shelled fava beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped tomatoes
5 cups water
1/4 cup rice
2 cups chopped spinach
Salt
Cook fava beans in pot of boiling salted water two minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Remove outer skins, discard and reserve beans.
Heat olive oil in soup pot over moderate heat. Add onion and celery and saute until onion begins to brown, seven to 10 minutes.
Add parsley, carrot and tomatoes and cook, stirring, several minutes. Add water and peeled beans, cover and cook over low to moderate heat until beans are tender, about 50 minutes.
Add rice, cover and cook 10 more minutes. Add spinach, cover and cook over low heat until rice is tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and serve hot.
Makes four to six servings.
Each serving contains about: 384 calories; 126 milligrams sodium; 0 cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 59 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 3.17 grams fiber.
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This "Scafata" recipe is adapted from Antonella Santolini's
"La Cucina Delle Regioni D'Italia: Umbria" (Edizioni Mida, 1988).
The name comes from the Umbrian word for the hull of the beans.
UMBRIAN FAVA BEAN STEW
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup shelled, peeled fava beans
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrot
11/2 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves
11/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
Salt, pepper
Cook oil, beans, onion, celery, carrot and chard over
low heat in medium saucepan. When beans are quite tender,
after about 45 minutes, add tomatoes and cook another 20 to
25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Makes four servings.
Each serving contains about: 157 calories; 124 milligrams sodium; 0 cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 1.47 grams fiber.
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Fava beans don't get any richer than this,
and they don't get any more delicious, either.
This recipe -- "Feves au Lard Fume" --
from Richard Olney's "Simple French Food" (Atheneum, 1974)
is almost compulsively edible.
After all, how bad can bacon, cream and egg yolks be?
CREAMED FAVA BEANS AND BACON
5 pounds young fava beans, in pods
1/4 pound lean bacon strips
1 tablespoon butter
1 branch fresh savory (or pinch finely crumbled dried savory)
About 3 tablespoons water
Salt
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 egg yolks
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon juice
Chopped parsley
Shell beans and remove skins from all except those pods that are tiny
and bright green. Cut bacon in 1/2-inch sections, parboil for a few
seconds to remove excess salt and drain.
Cook bacon in butter in heavy saucepan over low heat two to three minutes.
Bacon should remain limp.
Add fava beans, savory, just enough water to moisten lightly and salt to
taste. Cover tightly and cook over high heat few seconds. Turn heat to
low again so beans stew in own steam rather than boiling. Cook, shaking
pan gently from time to time, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from
heat and cool 1 minute or so.
Mix cream, egg yolks and pepper to taste and stir gently into fava beans.
Return to low heat, stirring until sauce is only lightly bound, coating
spoon thinly. Sauce should not approach boil. Squeeze in few drops lemon
juice to taste, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Makes four servings.
Each serving contains about: 488 calories; 283 milligrams sodium;
267 milligrams cholesterol; 31 grams fat; 34 grams carbohydrates;
19 grams protein; 1.69 grams fiber.
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Bissara (Fresh Fava Bean Dip)
2 pounds fresh fava beans, shelled, peeled if large
3 tb fresh lemon juice
5 tb extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
pita wedges, sliced raw carrots, or crackers for serving
Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
Blanch the beans for 2 or 3 minutes. Drain, reserving 3
tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Peel if the beans are large.
In a blender or food processor, combine half the beans,
the reserved liquid and the lemon juice. (Add more liquid
if you prefer a thinner dip.) Process, scraping down the sides
with a spatula, until the mixture is fairly smooth. Add the
remaining beans and the oil, and process until smooth.
Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in the salt and cumin.
Sprinkle with the parsley. Serve with pita bread, vegetables, or crackers for dipping.
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Fava Bean Relish
1 1/2 tb olive oil
8 ounces chopped andouille sausage (optional)
1 cup fresh fava beans
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup peeled, chopped plum (roma) tomatoes
1 clove garlic minced
1-2 tb chopped cilantro
salt & pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage
and saute stirring for 2 minutes. Add the beans,
onions, tomatoes, garlic and cilantro and saute for
2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.
This is good with cheese dishes, as well as chicken and fish.
NOTE: One pound of fava beans in the pod yields about one cup of shelled and peeled beans.