I am currently embroiled in a love affair with fava beans. The interesting thing is that I never tried them until meeting the Cute Gardener and being the recipient of his lovely, homegrown variety interspersed in a perfect bowl of pasta. I remember the scene in Silence of the Lambs when I eat them now, where cannibal Hannibal Lecter was remarking upon eating them with chianti and flesh. I can see why he'd choose them, they are rich, meaty and sensual in a land of otherwise nubby legumes and I just can't get enough of them.
I got a special big bag bounty of them last week and crafted an original savory meal from them that informed my lunches for three blissful days. This made a batch big enough for three or four meals.
First step requires de-podding the beans. It's simple with favas. You snap off one crisp end and pull the string down one whole side which creates a seam to split apart of pop them out of. I came out with four cups worth.
Next, I sauteed a pound of ground turkey in a pan started with two tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon each of salt and pepper, half a tablespoon of cumin, one tablespoon of curry powder and one squirt from a tube of harissa chili sauce till browned.
I made a pool in the middle of the pot and added some more olive oil and sauteed the favas till they crinkled up with translucent shells. Note: some people, okay, maybe most, take these skins off the beans first but I am too damn lazy for all that work and don't mind the taste and the texture of the skins staying on, so choose your battles...
The result was a nice, warm and spicy bowl with a side of cold, snap peas. A lovely hearty and healthy meal for one!
The beauty of this recipe is that I ate a simple bowl of the concoction on day one followed by the addition of the mix to an omelet and then to a cold salad on pursuant occasions. This would be good thrown into many things.
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