Produce Highlight: Fava Beans – Worth the Effort!

Also know as broad beans, the fava bean is a brightly colored leguminous vegetable. Their nutty, buttery flavor and tender, creamy texture makes them well worth the little extra preparation they require! 

Because fava beans are good at fixing nitrogen in the soil, farmers often use them as a cover crop (a crop planted to replenish soil nutrients, increase fertility, and manage pests and weeds) to rotate in between plantings of other crops, particularly during the winter. They appear at the market in mid spring and usually stick around to late spring.

When buying fresh fava beans, seek out young, tender beans with bright green pods. They bring a rich texture and flavor to dips, salads, soups, and more, so keep reading to get the skinny on how to properly prepare these broad beans, then get to the market on Saturday to pick up a fresh batch!

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How to Prepare Fava Beans

Since each bean comes wrapped in a thick outer skin, and the whole bundle is wrapped in a pod, fava beans require a bit of prep. Here’s how to tackle your bounty.

Open Up!

If beans are very young and fresh, you don’t have to remove the inner skins. Most fava beans in the US do need to be peeled, though. Buy one pound of fava bean pods for every cup of peeled beans you want. To release the beans, break open each pod by tearing off the end and pulling the string-like seam down. Slide your finger along the seam to open the pod. If that doesn’t work, you can also try twisting the pod and using your thumb to open it.
 

Give them a Hot Bath

Once all the beans are out of their pods, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the beans into the water and cook for one minute to blanch them.
 

Shock ‘Em

After one minute is up, drain the beans and shock them in a bowl of ice water until cool. This stops the cooking process, keeping them perfectly tender and bright green.
 

Squeeze ‘Em

Remove the thick skin that surrounds each bean by squeezing it and using your thumbnail to break open the skin and push the bean out. If you’re not going to be using the skinned beans immediately, store them in the freezer in an airtight container to keep them green. Storing them in the freezer is also a great way to preserve them to enjoy when spring is long gone.
 

Eat ‘Em!

At their peak, fava beans should be eaten simply, but they’re also pretty great mashed and spread on crostini, tossed in pasta, mixed in a salad, or simmered in a spring soup.

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Fava Bean and Goat Cheese Dip with Radishes

Recipe courtesy of marthastewart.com

INGREDIENTS

• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 pounds fava beans, shelled
• 1/2 cup soft goat cheese (4 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water, plus more if needed
• 1 bunch radishes, halved if large

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare an ice-water bath. Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook fava beans until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, and transfer to ice-water bath. Let cool. Drain, and peel beans.
2. Pulse beans, goat cheese, oil, tarragon, lemon zest and juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a food processor until just combined but still chunky, about 6 or 7 times. Stir in water. Add an additional tablespoon water if mixture is too thick. Transfer to a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Sprinkle with pepper just before serving. Serve with radishes.

Fresh Pasta with Favas, Tomatoes, and Sausage

Recipe courtesy of bonappetit.com

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1/2 pound Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 3/4 cups chopped plum tomatoes
• 1 cup shelled fresh fava beans (from about 1 pound), blanched 3 minutes then peeled, or double-peeled frozen, thawed
• 3/4 pound fresh pasta sheets, cut as desired, or dried egg fettuccine
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese plus additional for passing

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add next 3 ingredients. Sauté until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add sausages; break up with fork. Sauté until brown, about 3 minutes. Add wine; simmer 1 minute, scraping up browned bits. Add tomatoes and fava beans. Sauté until tomatoes soften, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot.
3. Add sauce to pasta. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid as needed if dry, about 2 minutes. Mix in 2 tablespoons cheese. Transfer pasta to bowl. Serve, passing additional cheese.
4. In this dish, maltagliati (badly cut) pasta is used. To make it, cut fresh pasta sheets into trapezoids. Don’t worry about making each piece exactly the same size or shape. The pasta should have an irregular look.