402146 Wed May 16 13:11:39 -0700 2007 10 31 Home Cooking 0 2575125 I love them, but always find myself cooking them pretty much the same way: with some mint, shallots or onions and sometimes some garlic, a bit of stock or water; then eat as is or cook further and mash it up a bit for bruschetta. Just need some other ideas for fava beans. How do you like to prepare them? Thanks. Wed May 16 13:11:40 -0700 2007 13957 slacker 1 2575138 I just made them for the 1st time last last weekend. It was very labor-intensive, what with shelling the beans, cooking them, then piercing every skin one at a time to release the beans. Any faster way to do this? Wed May 16 13:15:27 -0700 2007 2575125 68840 jono37 2 2575155 Unfortunately, no. I asked the same question last fava bean season, and everyone agreed, there's no faster method. Wed May 16 13:18:43 -0700 2007 2575138 13957 slacker 2 2575172 With a bit of luck, you might find a Chinese market that carries imported frozen "broad beans" (the British name for favas). They are frozen, shelled, but with the slippery hulls attached. We get them in the SF area for about $1.50 lb. I parboil, cool, then snip the hull with scissors and pop out the bean. Excellent in place of green peas (carbonara, Cashew Chicken, etc). Wed May 16 13:21:29 -0700 2007 2575138 12274 OldTimer 3 2576219 I agree. I get completely shelled frozen favas (broad beans) in Flushing, NY for $1.49 at Hong Kong Market. In NYC, I get 28 ounces of favas (unshelled, frozen, from Chile) for $2.50. When favas are not available fresh at the market, these work well. An added benefit is you save a lot of time in preparation because they're already shelled. Taste is comparable. Wed May 16 18:34:31 -0700 2007 2575172 10609 Cheese Boy 3 2576521 Where in the Bay Area did you find them? In Portugal they were readily available that way in the freezer section of the grocery store, and I haven't been able to find them here. In Portugal we'd parboil them in bouillon or water, then sautee in olive oil, sliced garlic, paprika, or whatever spices suit your fancy. Mmmm! Wed May 16 20:34:21 -0700 2007 2575172 22011 Kitchen Imp 4 2576606 99 Ranch market...in the freezer section. Wed May 16 21:09:37 -0700 2007 2576521 12274 OldTimer 2 2576232 I agree that it's labor intensive - but prepared some this weekend and got into a rhythm removing the skins. Assuming you are right handed, pick up blanched fava bean in right hand, pierce skin with thumbnail, transfer to left hand and squeeze out the bean and drop in the bowl, tossing the skin. While you are doing that with the left hand, pick up the next bean with the right hand, repeat etc. Once I got going with this, it didn't take long at all to get them all done. Wed May 16 18:39:45 -0700 2007 2575138 10985 MMRuth 2 2576556 In the parallel Fava Beans thread, I've described two methods recommended by Paula Wolfert www.chowhound.com/topics/401545#2576280 I've only tried the freezing method. Though Paula says her beans pop out of their skins when she handles them that way, I've found it fairly laborious if somewhat faster and less messy than parboiling. Wed May 16 20:50:56 -0700 2007 2575138 10520 carswell 1 2576249 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 18:46:01 -0700 2007 2575125 54254 kobetobiko 1 2895531 I discovered a great way to cook them up without shelling them: fava bean soup, pureed. This is modified from Anderson's The Food of Portugal (a great cookbook, btw). This recipe is good for about 1 pound favas. Remove the favas from the pods, but don't shell them, and boil about 20 min. In a separate stock pot, sautee two coarsely chopped onions and a couple cloves garlic (diced) in olive oil. When the onions are limp, about 5 min, add 2 medium-sized cubed potatoes and sautee a bit. Then add lots of chicken stock - maybe 4-5 cups. Boil about 20-30 min, or until potatoes are mushy. When they are easily squished with a fork, add the favas and their cooking water. Recommended spices: a pinch of red pepper flakes, black pepper, dried mint. Puree completely, either in a blender/food processor in batches or (my preference) a hand blender. Put one tsp chopped fresh mint in each bowl and ladle soup over it. Thu Aug 30 01:42:06 -0700 2007 2575125 22011 Kitchen Imp