We ventured into a new vegetable for Easter this year – fava beans! I was uninterested in them for quite awhile, but I finally gave in and was glad I did. Beware! Shelling and removing skins takes quite awhile … and also a large bunch of fava beans ends up shrinking down quite a bit. Everyone enjoyed this recipe! You can leave the yogurt out if you are concerned about dairy.
An easy way to shell your beans – put the fava beans in boiling salted water to blanch for 30 seconds. Remove the beans from the boiling water and submerge them in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. This step softens the second skin, making it easier to remove.
Ingredients:
1-2 pounds fava beans, shelled and inside skin removed
1 bunch spring onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped basil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
water or stock
¼ cup whole milk yogurt
Directions:
1. Finely slice the white parts of the onions and an inch of the greens. Chop the rest of the greens into 1/2–inch pieces, keeping them separate from the bottoms.
2. Warm the oil in an 8-inch skillet. Add the onion bottoms and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the fava beans, two thirds of the parsley and basil, 1 teaspoon sea salt and water or stock to cover. Simmer until the beans are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the green part of the onions and cook until the beans are completely tender, about another 10 minutes or so. Taste for salt and season with pepper.
3. Turn off the heat, stir the yogurt into the hot fava beans, add the remaining parsley and basil. Serve warm.
