Life with Fava

Fava'a Start at 3 pounds 3-3/4 Oz.

1st Peel on our front steps

After 1st Peel we have 1 pound 6 oz of Fava Beans

After 2nd Peeling less than a Pound of Fava's to cook

Toast Points with Fava Bean Spread and Ricotta Cheese

Mozza Pizza

Thai Fried Rice

Asparagus Morell Risotto

We purchased Fava Beans at the market and decided to make Fava Bean Puree. I always wondered what the ratio of final beans to purchased beans were, so I decided to document the preparation of the puree. As you can see, there is lots of peeling and discarded waste. We save all of the peelings however and give to a neighbor who composts it.

We love the flavor of fava bean puree and it is excellent on toast points. You can garnish with crumbled feta if you desire. In our case because we had some of the leftover baked ricotta and peas we used that on top of the spread. Talk about leftovers, Pizza from Mozza, how  good is that?

We had brought home some leftover pork from Mozza. Our favorite recipe for Fried Rice is Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson. We simply substituted the Crab with Pork. It was as good or better than any Fried Rice we get a restaurants. You can get the recipe in our blog of: April 4, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Finally we made: Asparagus Morell Risotto. We had lots of excellent food!

Fava Bean Puree

3 pounds mid-season fava beans

1/2 to 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper

2 cloves Garlic

1/4 bay leaf

1 small sprig rosemary

1 sprig thyme

1/2 lemon

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Shell the fava beans; discard the pods. Parboil the shelled beans for 1 minute. Drain them and immediately plunge them in ice-cold water for a few minutes to cool. Drain them again and remove their pale green skins, piercing the outer skin of each bean with your thumbnail and popping out the bright green bean in­side with a pinch of your other thumb and forefinger.

Warm about ½ cup of the olive oil in a shallow, nonreactive sauté pan. Add the beans and salt lightly. Add the garlic, peeled and chopped very fine; the herbs; and a splash of water. Cook the beans at a slow sim­mer, stirring and tasting frequently, for about 30 minutes, until they are completely soft and pale green and easily mashed into a puree. Add an­other splash of water from time to time to prevent the beans from dry­ing out and sticking to the pan.

When the beans are done, remove and discard the herbs, and mash the beans into a paste with a wooden spoon—or pass them through a sieve or a food mill or puree with a food processor. Taste for seasoning and add more olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice to taste. If the puree is at all dry and tight, add still more olive oil. Don't be stingy with the oil; good olive oil is as important to the flavor of the puree as the beans. Serve warm or at room temperature, by itself or spread on grilled bread.

Makes about 3 cups.