Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Don't Hate on the Fava Bean

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As juvenile as it may seem, I still cannot think of a fava bean and not associate it with Hannibal Lector and a nice chianti. That doesn’t mean that I don’t love a good fava bean, because I do. And they do go very nicely with chianti. The liver I’m not so sold on. Fava beans are relatively underused and I understand why. They are a lot of work. First you have to shell them, this takes a nice commitment of time, and you still aren’t even done. Then you have to blanch them for a couple minutes, and you’re Still not done! They must now be peeled out of their shells. It’s a lot of work, and about 2 pounds of whole beans will yield less than a half cup of prepared beans. It’s hard to justify that, I get it. Yet, I am still drawn to them, hard work and all.

I find they are best used in a dish with few other ingredients so that the strong flavor of the bean really comes through. Lately I’ve been really into adding a punch of something salty to my dishes and this is how the bones of this dish came together. Green beans are one of my favorite green veggies, but are often bland and redundant, especially as a menu option to my clients. So I added fava beans to them and the dish was so much better. And since I was on a roll, I fried up some nice prosciutto and threw it in. Wow, what a delish flavor combination. I stared serving it to clients and so far 4 people have declared it their new favorite of my side dishes and requested it once a week. I guess I did good.

A note for those who are a bit hesitant to undertake the process of fava bean extraction; frozen beans work perfectly.

Fava and Green Bean salad with Prosciutto

1 cup shelled fava beans (from about 2 pounds whole beans)
1 pound of trimmed green beans
2 oz good quality prosciutto, diced
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Add the fava beans and cook two minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook 3-4 minutes, until crisp tender. Pour into colander and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Add beans to a large mixing bowl. When the fava beans are cool enough to handle, peel back the outer shells and add the inner beans to the bowl with the green beans. Stir in the olive oil, pine nuts and a small pinch of salt.

In a non stick skillet over medium high heat, cook the prosciutto 5-7 minutes until nicely browned and crisp. Add to bean mixture and taste for seasoning. Keep in mind prosciutto is quite salty so be careful when seasoning. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm. Yields 4-6 side dish portions.

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