Fava Bean Purée Recipe
Adapted from "Chez Panisse Vegetables"
Fava beans puréed into a spread and smeared on crostini are a sign that spring is truly here. You can also serve this purée under seared fish or roasted chicken or pork.
INGREDIENTS
- Salt
- 3 cups fava beans, removed from their pods (from about 3 to 4 pounds of favas in their pods)
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 medium thyme sprig
- 1 (6-inch) rosemary sprig
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1/2 medium lemon)
- Freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare an ice water bath by filling a large bowl halfway with ice and water; set aside.
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the shelled favas and boil until the bean inside the outer skin is bright green and firm but not hard, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the favas and immediately place in the ice water bath until cool. Peel the light green skin from each bean to reveal two bright green inner halves, discard the skins, and place the beans in a medium bowl.
- Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the reserved favas and stir to coat with oil. Add the water, thyme, and rosemary and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, about 10 minutes more. (Add more water as needed, a tablespoon at a time, to keep the beans from sticking to the pan.)
- Remove and discard the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Transfer the fava mixture to a blender and blend on low until coarsely chopped. Transfer a third of the chopped fava mixture to a small bowl. Continue to blend until the remaining fava mixture is finely puréed. If the purée is too thick, add water a tablespoon at a time to reach the desired consistency. Transfer the purée to the bowl with the reserved chopped favas. Stir in the lemon juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with additional olive oil if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
FAIL! What the? Why is this under vegan comfort food with scallops as its main photoed ingredient? No vegan wants to see meat when referring to a "vegan" recipe!
You need to use fresh and account for the time of shelling and removing the skins over the beans...but if you do this you'll never have doubts about eating favas again. They're really one of the most flavorful beans around. If you're spending time on Chow, you should know not to let canned or frozen produce influence your decisions on whether you like an ingredient.
Joyfull, I'm in the same position as you. I tried a package of them that had been flash frozen and were still bright green, thinking they might taste better. Cooked them very carefully but they were still awful.
Fava beans..
I've noticed fava bean recipes for ages but have always passed them over as they are a bean I'm not at all familiar with. And really, from the look of fava beans I never really wanted to try them anyway. Which is a bit silly to think as we all know looks mean nothing, its all in the taste, an ugly food can taste out of this world good, but sometimes mind over matter (fava beans)...+READ
Fava beans..
I've noticed fava bean recipes for ages but have always passed them over as they are a bean I'm not at all familiar with. And really, from the look of fava beans I never really wanted to try them anyway. Which is a bit silly to think as we all know looks mean nothing, its all in the taste, an ugly food can taste out of this world good, but sometimes mind over matter (fava beans) wins out when it comes to foods.
But.. I finally did it. While shopping I decided I'd finally try those darn fava beans that I see so much hoopla about. Grabbed a can and brought them home. Chose a simple recipe for the beans as I didn't want to waste ingredients on something I might not like.
Opened the can, rinsed them well, did think right off they were the oddest color, ick rust brown comes to mind, decided to taste a couple of the beans before making up my recipe, & have to say they were terrible! Really really terrible! I don't think I've ever tasted a bean that was so offputting in taste.
I don't know, I love most beans, be they in a can or cooked up from dry. But the much touted fava bean? Uh uh, nooo thank you. This is not a nice bean..-COLLAPSE
Reminds me of Moroccan bissara (fava bean puree soup). If you go through the trouble of shelling & pureeing the fava beans, I recommend you modify the flavouring to make some bissara! Yum.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bissara/Detail.aspx