401545 Mon May 14 17:15:21 -0700 2007 13 31 Home Cooking 0 2569583 I have a wicked craving for fava beans and (provided I can find some) will be buying large quantities of them for a side dish at a dinner party this week. I've blanched, peeled and sauteed them berfore with excellent results, but wanted to solicit any winning recipes you might wish to share. Thanks! Mon May 14 17:15:21 -0700 2007 51367 Yaqo Homo 1 2569604 mmmmm...fava beans. Here is one of my fave recipes (as I remember it) which just also happens to be really, really easy: Put fava beans in pot and cover with vegetable broth. Throw in some sprigs of fresh rosemary Cook until beans are tender (you may need to add more broth at some point to keep the beans covered) Remove the rosemary. Put beans in bowl (I usually include a little of the broth but not all of it) add some olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few tablespoons of fresh, chopped parsley. Serve hot or cold. simple, refreshing, and delicious! Mon May 14 17:22:17 -0700 2007 2569583 72532 rds246 1 2569894 If you are open to a cold dish - just blanch, peel and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, minced shallot, a lot of chopped parsley, salt and pepper. you can also sprinkle on some homemade ricotta over top. It is fresh, light and tasty. Mon May 14 19:51:29 -0700 2007 2569583 78708 howchow 1 2569979 I used this recipe from Lydia Bastianich and really liked the results. It was easy and although I would never have dreamed up that combination of ingredients, I liked it a lot. The website below does not give her attribution, but it's word-for-word. http://lynnescountrykitchen.net/holiday/easter/springlegumes.html Mon May 14 20:26:16 -0700 2007 2569583 42513 Mawrter 1 2570069 In the new edition of *The Cooking of Southwest France*, Paula Wolfert has a recipe for a ragout of fava beans, artichoke hearts, fennel, pancetta and shallots that she got from Jean-Pierre Moullé, for many years the chef at Chez Panisse. He uses it as a base for a succulent pork belly braised in Sauternes or other sweet wine and finished on the grill and she likes it as a side for duck confit. If you're interested and can't put your hands on the book, I can e-mail the recipe to you or summarize it here. Mon May 14 21:02:31 -0700 2007 2569583 10520 carswell 2 2572531 This is very much the way I make them. Infact just picked some a few days ago from my garden. I cook them, peel them, then clean artichokes, cook the cleaned hearts, then just toss with garlic, olive oil, and preserved di ed lemon peel. I make this from our Meyer Lemons and always keep on hand. Just wonderful! Mary-Anne Alamo Tue May 15 16:30:10 -0700 2007 2570069 98397 shantihhh 2 2575009 Yes could you please summarize the recipe, it sounds wonderful! Wed May 16 12:45:58 -0700 2007 2570069 22882 smsliu 3 2576280 Paula has two techniques to speed up the fava-peeling process. One is to steam the beans in their pods, and then shell and peel them under cold running water (the downside to this is that the beans have to be cooked immediately or they turn slimy). The other is to freeze the shelled but unpeeled beans and then slip the peels off as the beans are thawing (it's still a lot of work). FRESH FAVA BEAN RAGOUT Adapted from Paula Wolfert's *The Cooking of Southwest France* In a medium skillet over low heat, cover and cook 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots and 1/2 cup finely diced pancetta in 1 tablespoon duck fat or lard for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until the pancetta begins to brown. Add 1/2 cup thinly sliced artichoke hearts, 1/2 small fennel bulb thinly sliced lengthwise and 1 teaspoon sugar. Cook 3 or 4 minutes more. Turn the heat to high and pour in 1/4 cup water. Add 3/4 cup unsalted chicken stock and 4½ to 5 cups favas (about 6 pounds in their pods). Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer until the favas are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Wed May 16 18:55:00 -0700 2007 2575009 10520 carswell 1 2570306 I blanch, then get rid of the tough skins if necessary. Toss with lemon, salt, pepper, a crushed garlic clove, a little dried chili, and plenty of good olive oil. Let sit for at least an hour, remove garlic clove after a day or so if the taste starts to get too strong. I eat that alone or with really good bread for dipping. You can also make a nice pasta sauce. Make the above, give or take whichever ingredients you like, mash about 1/2 or 3/4 of it with some basil, add some nice cheese (pecorino, parmigiano). Add olive oil if it's too dry. Toss with pasta of your choice. Tue May 15 02:09:43 -0700 2007 2569583 14139 Kagey 1 2570804 They are really good with either pecorino or pancetta, with a good grind of black pepper. Tue May 15 08:42:09 -0700 2007 2569583 13445 Louise 1 2572523 I like them blanched, peeled, and gently stewed for about ten minutes in olive oil, a few chili flakes, garlic clove, a sprig of rosemary, S&P. I then puree the mixture with a bit of lemon juice. I spread it in a large dish and top with oil cured black olives, pecornio, and parsley. Lovely with pita and makes a good filling for pasta as well. Tue May 15 16:26:52 -0700 2007 2569583 10099 JudiAU 1 2575284 Gluten-Free Girl food blog had a good fava bean and tomato salad recipe. The flavors together were very nice. Here is a link to the recipe: http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2006/04/healing-broken-heart-with-food.html Wed May 16 13:40:15 -0700 2007 2569583 89783 alag77 1 2576305 Hi, one of my favorite dishes at Del Posto (Batali's upscale Italian restaurant in NYC) is the orecchiette with lamb neck sauage, chanterelles, and fava beans. While I don't have the recipe, the dish does not some with much sauce, and appears to be mainly sauteeing all the ingredients with the orecchiette. You may want to give this a try! Wed May 16 19:03:34 -0700 2007 2569583 54254 kobetobiko 1 2580192 Thanks for all the great suggestions. Being an exceptionally lazy man, I went with the simplest preparation (howchow's recipe), but punched it up a bit with some (greasy) aspects of other recipes mentioned here. I chopped and fried some bacon and sauteed chopped fennel and shallots in the bacon fat with a little olive oil. I then combined the sautted fennel/onion mixture and the bacon with the blanched, peeled fava beans; I seasoned it with lemon, black pepper and plenty of parsley. Before seving, I added some chopped tomatoes and grated pecorino cheese on top. The result was somewhere between a salad and some oddball form of salsa--but we were pleased with the results. Thu May 17 22:19:12 -0700 2007 2569583 51367 Yaqo Homo