Last week I pureed some blanched favas with our extra virgin olive oil and the result was a fragrant, pistachio-colored spread perfect for sandwiches, topping crostini or my personal favorite: by the spoonful!
If you're not familiar with these lumpy green pods, be warned that shelling them can take a bit of time and buying them can be a tad deceiving.
The small green beans you're after are hiding under two layers of skin, but the silver lining is that shelling can be a truly enjoyable, zen-like process perfect for drowning out any unwanted daily buzz. What's more, the relatively small pile of beans you uncover are so brightly flavored that the labor of love is always worth the effort.
Here are a few recipes covering a spectrum of fava bean dishes, along with a little shelling tutorial from Mariquita Farms for any fava novices out there:
Fava Beans with Dandelion Greens from Saveur
Grilled Fava Beans from 101Cookbooks.com
Fava Bean Gazpacho adapted from The Slow Mediterranean Kitchenby Paula Wolfert's for The New York Times
Mariquita Farms.
Happy summer!
