Fresh Fava Beans

[cheesecake17]

I bought a bagful of fresh fava beans yesterday, and I'm looking for a great recipe. Something light, possibly a dip with lemon? Some previous posts said to shell the fava beans, then blanch and shock, then remove the skins. How long do I need to blanch them for?

Also, will they last a few days in the fridge?

TIA

[goodhealthgourmet]

grill them (or if you don't have a grill, char them in a cast iron skillet). in addition to being delicious when prepared this way, you can eat the whole pods and spare yourself all that shelling & skinning :)

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grilled-fava-bean-pods-with-chile-and-lemon
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Grilled-Fava-Beans
http://nymag.com/restaurants/recipes/...

[JoanN]

Have you actually prepare favas this way? I've peeled about five pounds of favas in the past week and I sure wouldn't have wanted to eat them whole. At least two had worms in them. Many had small, hard, unmatured beans in the pod, and all pods were full of fuzz. I guess maybe if I had grown my own and picked them early the pods would be edible. But I sure wouldn't have wanted to eat any of the pods, some from Fairway, some from the farmers' market, that I've peeled this week.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i sure have! i discovered the grill method a few years ago and fell in love. maybe i've just been lucky with young, tender pods, but i've never had worms in mine, and only the occasional one with fuzz...i tend to cut or bite it in half instead of just chewing the whole pod in one fell swoop to be sure i'm not ingesting anything unsavory that's hiding in there ;)

[Kitchen Imp]

Other discussion threads on this topic:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/720107
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/402146

[Rmis32]

" fava bean soup with a splash of olive oil, lemon juice and Aleppo's red peppers. "

From "Food Lovers Discover The Joys Of Aleppo"

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...

[inthekitchen]

My favorite fresh fava bean recipe is a succotash: Fresh fava beans, blanched and skins removed, roasted red peppers (skins and seeds removed), fresh corn cut off the cobb, and basil. Maybe a little lemon juice and olive oil. Served at room temperature or cold. Always good as a picnic salad.

[jvanderh]

If they are big, you'll need to peel them. If they are little, you won't. (I use the very sophisticated method of sticking my thumbnail into the bean to see how hard the shell is). I'd say the simpler the better-- maybe yogurt, sauteed garlic, and lemon zest and juice.

[inthekitchen]

Fresh fava beans will last for a few day in the refrigerator. Remove the thick skin, boil (blanch) for 3 - 5 minutes, remove the skins from each individual bean. The fava beans are then ready to use in your recipes. Yes they will last a few days in the refrigerator.

[Pigeage]

Blanching times available on the web - the beans are best consumed very fresh. Maybe have a friend for dinner? And a nice Chianti. :-)