Fava Beans

If ever there was a labor of love in the kitchen, surely it must be fava beans. I mean really, this vegetable does not want to be eaten. The long, fuzzy pods are completely inedible unless very immature; mostly the thick pods must be pulled apart to reveal the beans inside which are encased in yet another layer of tough skin. The beans must first be blanched before they will pop out of this outer skin. Only then are they ready to be thrown into a pasta, salad, or just enjoyed by themselves.

When I first brought home some favas years ago, I was blessedly unaware of the work that had to go into them. I shelled them and then cooked them up into something, who knows what now. They were practically inedible--all pasty and chalky. Instead of wondering what I had done wrong, I quickly jumped to the conclusion that favas were just gross (a conclusion which was further supported by viewing Anthony Hopkins' take on them in Silence of the Lambs!). It was sometime later that I stumbled across an article on favas, and realized that we had eaten the entire bean, skin and all. Ah well, live and learn, right. For some reason my husband keeps coming back to the table, despite the fact that I insist on feeding him inedibles.

Lesson learned--shell the favas from both of their intimidating protective layers! I know now that they are not gross, but rather a wonderful, tender example of spring at its prime. I only buy them when I am ready to invest some time in their preparation. While admittedly requiring a lengthy process, I find that I can get lost in the simple motion of popping them out of their skins. Quite Zen.

I decided that I needed a fava salad to go along with the garlic-spear soup. So after getting them down to their ready-to-use state, I simply sauteed up some thinly sliced pancetta (my newest obsession!), then threw a shallot into the left-over fat. After the shallot was nicely browned, I added the favas and then threw in some balsamic vinegar after they were slightly warmed. I tossed the fava/shallot/vinegar with some coarsely chopped spinach, then topped the entire thing with the pancetta and some pine nuts. Splendid.