If I believed in reincarnation and had to come back as a lower form of life I would like to be reincarnated as a fava bean. Not only would I live in a thick, insulated, cottony, protective pod but I would be further insulated by living inside a protective womb-like skin within this pod. If you wanted to get to a fava bean it would certainly take a lot of work.
The fava bean lives this very protected life and the result is a very delicate, subtle bean. Therefore, do not think of the usual legume recipes when cooking fava beans.
Since fava beans were new to us, I decided (as usual) to start basic in order to taste the food without a lot of masking spices and seasonings. Which meant that I adapted a recipe from Alice Water's Vegetable cookbook.
My Adaptation of Fava Bean Ragout:
- 1.5 lb fava beans
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small sprig of rosemary finely chopped
- Olive oil
- Juice of 1/4 lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. In the meantime, shell the fava beans and discard the pod (assume hours for this process--it is tedious).
- Plunge the beans into boiling water for about a minute. The outer skins on mature beans will turn white.
- Drain and cool immediately with cold water.
- To quote Alice: "Pierce the outer skin with thumb and squeeze each bean out of its skin with thumb and forefinger."
- Place the beans in a small skillet with equal parts water and olive oil and just cover the beans
- Add minced garlic and chopped rosemary
- Cook at least 5 minutes (my beans were pretty large so I cooked them and let them sit with the fire off in the skillet until it was time to plate).
- Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste
- Drain in a colander and serve as a side dish
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