Fava-ism

Saucyman, We bought some fava beans over the weekend. I don’t know what to do with them – how to prep them, cook them or what to serve with any ideas? Chianti and beans

The fava has been around, it was the rare legume consumed by hunter-gatherers. As the world became civilized or at least civilizations developed, the fava was a staple of Egyptians and Romans (The Greeks weren’t so keen on the bean or bean eaters). For centuries, the fava was the backbone of nutrition in the Mediterranean, and the plant nourished in different ways: The bean, shelled and cooked, was an important source of protein and the plant, cultivated as winter cover in milder regions or grown next to row crops, doubled as green manure, fertilizing soil with nitrogen.

The importance of the fava has diminished: the domination of New World legumes, dietary changes - Fridays and Lent aren’t the fasting days they used to be and farming practices largely avoid natural fertilizers. Well that and preparing the fava for the table is the single most labor-intensive job involved in the field to table loop. Even the bean’s most ardent supporters gently caution of the work involved – and not the good kind of work either, more of a drudgery – that repetitive, painful, soul-crushing labor that one never sees on cooking shows.

Even if shelling fava beans is the grave digging of the culinary world, there are still a couple of reasons why you would shell, blanch, remove the seed coat and cook the bean. The taste, subtle and sweet, somewhere between a sweet pea and lima bean, it is worth trying. And only after you have personally prepped the beans can you decide if the labor to taste ratio was worth the effort.

It is going to take about 4 pounds of favas in their fuzzy jacket to feed, but not fill, two people. Split the pods open like a sweet pea and set the beans aside. Wait, there’s more: Discard or compost the pods, simmer the beans for about a minute in salted water then rinse under cold water. Take a knife, pierce the skin of the bean and remove the bean from the plasticy skin. Repeat 100s of times. And they still need to be cooked until they are tender - an additional 5 to 10 minutes in water or oil. When complete, that 4 pounds of beans @ $3+ a lb. will yield a little over 8-12oz of still uncooked fava. Yes, that is about $20+ a pound, not counting your labor.

Fresh favas are traditionally paired with lamb. For the veg inclined, simmered in olive oil until soft the favas are a good match with steamed artichokes (or asparagus), lemon, pureed garlic and sea salt. With spaghetti and sharp Romano (and maybe a little prosciutto), favas make a pleasant variation of Pasta e Fagioli; a appetizer type of way, more than a satisfying dinner. Personally, I would follow the lead of Thomas Keller and make my very own Succotash; extending the favas with corn, chives and bell pepper.

I applaud the optimism, curiosity or earnestness that made you pick up favas from the market. Even if you’ll want to weep at the amount of time and money you have sunk into what is ultimately and literally, a handful of beans, that instinct to try new things is a wonderful quality and it is possible you enjoy the beans too.