I originally posted this blog on Friday night, but due to the busyness of life didn’t have time to write a proper introduction. So here goes!
Fava Beans: Herald of Spring, Inspiration for Restaurant Specials and Subject Matter for Nearly Every Food Blogger. After seeing Fava Beans at the Farmers Market for three weeks in a row and reading enough rave reviews of this meaty green wonder, I finally decided it would be a shame not to cook with them when they were practically asking me to take them home, spilling into the asparagus section where I was shopping.
It’s not the taste of Fava Beans that had me hesitating to buy them for three weeks; it was the time-consuming preparation: first shuck them and remove the beans from the pods and then boil the beans for a minute and remove the peel on the bean. Not quite as simple as the sugar snap peas we’d been buying the past few weeks. The cookbooks all acknowledged that Fava Beans were time consuming to prepare but concluded it was “well worth the effort.” Word on the street, however, was “Hmm, they take a lot of effort to prepare. Maybe it’s the kind of thing you should order in a restaurant instead of make at home.”
My conclusion? First, it does indeed take time to get your Fava Beans ready-to-eat, but you get the hang of shelling and peeling pretty quickly. Second, in whatever recipe you are using the Fava Beans, follow the proportions stated in the recipe. Being a fan of leafy greens, I added extra arugula to the salad, but found that the peppery, bitter arugula overpowered the Fava Beans. Third, may I ask a favor? I’d like to reserve my final judgment until later this week because we bought some more Fava Beans and I want to try another recipe where I don’t mask the Fava Bean flavor by not following the directions? Capiche?
Now, onto the salad:
Today we’re going to making a first course spring salad that includes three stars from the garden. The first is the more obscure Fava Beans.
Next we have tender asparagus.
Last but not least, our third amigo: peppery Arugula. (Did you know Arugula called Rocket in the U.K.? I wonder if the name along got any kids to eat any more veggies?)
Fava Beans are a bit time consuming to prepare. First you have to shell them or open the pods and slide the beans out with your thumb. The work is not over, though, once you pop the beans out of the pods: the beans have another layer with needs to be removed. This is done by blanching the beans in hot water for a minute and then peeling them. Fava Beans are not a weeknight dinner item, but they’d definitely qualify as Slow Food.
The Fava Beans are connected to their soft, cushy interior of the pod by these little yellow connector gizmos.
And voila–5 hours later you have shelled your Fava Beans. No, just kidding. Once you get started on the shelling, you’ll get the hang of it and it will go quickly. When you’re buying Fava Beans, the general rule is 1 pound of Fava pods yields 1 cup of Fava Beans.
Now, onto the asparagus prep. The recipe calls for trimmed asparagus, which means remove the bottom woody part of the stem. Don’t use a knife to cut off the woody part, just hold the bottom half of the asparagus in your hands, bend the stem gently and–snap!–the woody part will snap right off. Nobody likes eating the woody part of the asparagus, so don’t be afraid to pop off those bottoms.
Next, cut off the head of the asparagus. We’re going to blanch the asparagus heads in boiling water because they can be a little bitter if you eat them raw.
The stems are sweeter than the heads, so we’re going to eat them raw. Slice them on a diagonal to get this fun shape.
Now that you’ve blanched the asparagus heads and Fava Beans, it’s time to peel the Fava Beans. They really are this bright of green once you peel them!
All these lovely spring vegetables need is a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and Pecorino to bind them together in a salad that sings spring.
Fava Bean, Asparagus and Arugula Salad with Shaved Pecorino
Serves 4 as a first course
Active time: 1 ½ hours
½ pound medium asparagus, trimmed
2 cups shelled fava beans, (2 ½ pounds in pods) or shelled fresh edamame (soybeans)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ pound arugula, coarse stems discarded
1 (6-8 oz.) piece pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for shaving (you will not use all the cheese)
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Cut asparagus stalks on a long diagonal into 1/8 inch thick slices, leaving tips 1 inch long; reserve tips separately.
Blanch asparagus tips (not sliced stalks) in a 4-quart saucepan of boiling well-salted water for 2 minutes, then immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking. Return water to a boil and blanch beans for 1 minute, then drain and immediately transfer to ice water to stop the cooking. Drain asparagus tips and beans. Gently peel skins from favas (it’s not necessary to peel edamame).
Toss beans, asparagus tips, and raw sliced stalks in a bowl with 1 tablespoons oil and salt and pepper to taste. Divide among four plates. Toss arugula with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and salt and pepper to taste and mound on top of vegetables. Shave thin slices of cheese over salad with a vegetable pepper, then drizzle with vinegar.
From The Gourmet Cookbook, p 135.
Hello! My name is Andrea, and I’m a freelance writer living in the lovely, hilly city of San Francisco with my husband Sam.
Fava Bean, Asparagus and Arugula Salad with Shaved Pecorino
I originally posted this blog on Friday night, but due to the busyness of life didn’t have time to write a proper introduction. So here goes!
Fava Beans: Herald of Spring, Inspiration for Restaurant Specials and Subject Matter for Nearly Every Food Blogger. After seeing Fava Beans at the Farmers Market for three weeks in a row and reading enough rave reviews of this meaty green wonder, I finally decided it would be a shame not to cook with them when they were practically asking me to take them home, spilling into the asparagus section where I was shopping.
It’s not the taste of Fava Beans that had me hesitating to buy them for three weeks; it was the time-consuming preparation: first shuck them and remove the beans from the pods and then boil the beans for a minute and remove the peel on the bean. Not quite as simple as the sugar snap peas we’d been buying the past few weeks. The cookbooks all acknowledged that Fava Beans were time consuming to prepare but concluded it was “well worth the effort.” Word on the street, however, was “Hmm, they take a lot of effort to prepare. Maybe it’s the kind of thing you should order in a restaurant instead of make at home.”
My conclusion? First, it does indeed take time to get your Fava Beans ready-to-eat, but you get the hang of shelling and peeling pretty quickly. Second, in whatever recipe you are using the Fava Beans, follow the proportions stated in the recipe. Being a fan of leafy greens, I added extra arugula to the salad, but found that the peppery, bitter arugula overpowered the Fava Beans. Third, may I ask a favor? I’d like to reserve my final judgment until later this week because we bought some more Fava Beans and I want to try another recipe where I don’t mask the Fava Bean flavor by not following the directions? Capiche?
Now, onto the salad:
Today we’re going to making a first course spring salad that includes three stars from the garden. The first is the more obscure Fava Beans.
Next we have tender asparagus.
Last but not least, our third amigo: peppery Arugula. (Did you know Arugula called Rocket in the U.K.? I wonder if the name along got any kids to eat any more veggies?)
Fava Beans are a bit time consuming to prepare. First you have to shell them or open the pods and slide the beans out with your thumb. The work is not over, though, once you pop the beans out of the pods: the beans have another layer with needs to be removed. This is done by blanching the beans in hot water for a minute and then peeling them. Fava Beans are not a weeknight dinner item, but they’d definitely qualify as Slow Food.
The Fava Beans are connected to their soft, cushy interior of the pod by these little yellow connector gizmos.
And voila–5 hours later you have shelled your Fava Beans. No, just kidding. Once you get started on the shelling, you’ll get the hang of it and it will go quickly. When you’re buying Fava Beans, the general rule is 1 pound of Fava pods yields 1 cup of Fava Beans.
Now, onto the asparagus prep. The recipe calls for trimmed asparagus, which means remove the bottom woody part of the stem. Don’t use a knife to cut off the woody part, just hold the bottom half of the asparagus in your hands, bend the stem gently and–snap!–the woody part will snap right off. Nobody likes eating the woody part of the asparagus, so don’t be afraid to pop off those bottoms.
Next, cut off the head of the asparagus. We’re going to blanch the asparagus heads in boiling water because they can be a little bitter if you eat them raw.
The stems are sweeter than the heads, so we’re going to eat them raw. Slice them on a diagonal to get this fun shape.
Now that you’ve blanched the asparagus heads and Fava Beans, it’s time to peel the Fava Beans. They really are this bright of green once you peel them!
All these lovely spring vegetables need is a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and Pecorino to bind them together in a salad that sings spring.
Fava Bean, Asparagus and Arugula Salad with Shaved Pecorino
Serves 4 as a first course
Active time: 1 ½ hours
½ pound medium asparagus, trimmed
2 cups shelled fava beans, (2 ½ pounds in pods) or shelled fresh edamame (soybeans)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ pound arugula, coarse stems discarded
1 (6-8 oz.) piece pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for shaving (you will not use all the cheese)
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Cut asparagus stalks on a long diagonal into 1/8 inch thick slices, leaving tips 1 inch long; reserve tips separately.
Blanch asparagus tips (not sliced stalks) in a 4-quart saucepan of boiling well-salted water for 2 minutes, then immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking. Return water to a boil and blanch beans for 1 minute, then drain and immediately transfer to ice water to stop the cooking. Drain asparagus tips and beans. Gently peel skins from favas (it’s not necessary to peel edamame).
Toss beans, asparagus tips, and raw sliced stalks in a bowl with 1 tablespoons oil and salt and pepper to taste. Divide among four plates. Toss arugula with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and salt and pepper to taste and mound on top of vegetables. Shave thin slices of cheese over salad with a vegetable pepper, then drizzle with vinegar.
From The Gourmet Cookbook, p 135.