Fava Beans

My husband produced our first fava beans four years ago and I did an article on them; I was so impressed with how good they tasted. Well, four years later he has produced more. I am still impressed with how good they are but what happened in the intervening years? He did buy a book on vegetable gardening in Williamsburg last summer, Vegetable Gardening, The Colonial Williamsburg Way. Where most guides give a range of dates for planting, the author of this book gives planting guides as to what is actually happening in the garden. The advice for the planting of fava beans is to plant them when the last leaves fall in the autumn which is about the first of December here. That’s what he did. Maybe the secret. Despite our hard winter the favas produced.

While fava beans look a bit like lima beans, they are less starchy and fuller in flavor; nutty and slightly sweet with just a hint of bitterness and a discernible taste of cheese. Though popular in other parts of the world, especially the Middle East, where both fresh and dried fava beans are eaten, favas are still considered a specialty vegetable in North America. They are incredibly healthy and quite versatile. Cooked until tender, they turn buttery and can be added to soups, salads, or pastas, braised as a side dish, puréed for a dip, or eaten out of hand as a snack.

Fava beans are also called broad beans or horse beans. Grown in large fleshly pods that have a thick, cottony lining, each flat lava is encased in a pale, fairly thick skin, which becomes thicker and more bitter as the favas grow larger.

To shell and peel fava beans:

First break open the pods. Sometimes you can slide your finger along one side, opening the seam as you would a zipper, but other times you just have to break the pod apart in pieces.

Blanch the favas in boiling water for one minute and then cook under running water. Or transfer the favas to a bowl of ice water.

Favas have one wider, slightly flattened end with a scar where it was attached to the shell. Grasp the fava between your fingers with the scar facing up, and with the thumbnail of your other hand, tear into the scar end and peel back. Pinch gently and the fava will slide right out.’

You might substitute butter beans or peas in these recipes but if you can find them try the favas for an extra treat.

My favorite fava bean recipe is young favas with cream. This is from the French chef Roger Vergé. You cannot go wrong with this recipe.

Young Favas with Cream

4 servings

5 ½ pounds young fava beans

¾ cup heavy cream

A sprig of fresh savory (I used fresh thyme)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Shell the beans and slip each bean out of its tough skin.

Pour the cream into a shallow pan; add salt and the savory, and bring to a boil. Add the fava beans and boil, uncovered for 5 minutes.

Check that the beans are done; they should be tender but not falling apart. Remove the savory.

Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

I had an appetizer at Bottega that consisted of tiny pasta shells with fava beans in a creamy cheese sauce. It was wonderful. This makes me think that fava beans would be great in a risotto. This recipe adds peas and asparagus with the fava beans in the risotto. All of these vegetables are in season now so it is a wonderful springtime dish.

Risotto with Fava Beans, Asparagus and Peas

Serves 8

1 ½ pounds fava beans in the pod

Salt

½ pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch lengths

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, minced

3 ounces diced fresh ham

1 ½ cups Italian Arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

1 cup shelled fresh English peas

1 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Freshly ground black pepper

Peel the outer husk of the fava beans and discard. Bring a pot of water to boil, add the fava beans and boil for 30 seconds. Drain, cook the beans and peel the outer bright shell. Discard the shells and reserve the beans.

Bring 2 cups salted water to a boil, add the asparagus and boil until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and reserve the asparagus and water separately. Place the asparagus water, vegetable or chicken stock and 2 cups water in the saucepan over low heat.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil and cook the onions and ham until the onions are soft, 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir until the rice is coated with oil and just begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly, until the wine is almost absorbed. Add a ladle of hot stock and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is just tender and not chalky, 18 to 22 minutes. Add the peas and continue to add the stock for an additional 2 minutes, until the rice is creamy and just beyond the chalky stage. If you run out of chicken or vegetable stock, use hot water.

Remove the pan from the heat, add another ladleful of stock, butter, cream, asparagus, fava beans, half of the Parmigiano, salt and pepper. Stir quickly, cover and let sit covered off the heat for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, stir the risotto. Serve immediately garnished with the remaining Parmigiano.

 

 

New Potatoes

Culinary historians venture that potatoes held no cachet on southern tables until Jefferson and Franklin served them after their well-known Paris sojourns. Potatoes fared better as immigrants from potato-loving cultures arrived in waves over the next century or so, bringing their favorite spud varieties, recipes, and foodways with them.

Today, home gardeners and small farms are the guardians of potato diversity, as are cooks who appreciate that different recipes require different kinds of potatoes, ranging from low-starch to high-starch varieties. Low-starch waxy potatoes hold their shape when cooked, making them good candidates for potato salad, for example. High-starch varieties have dry flesh that collapse when cooked, so they’re best for fluffy mashed potatoes. Round, brown potatoes are most common, but these tubers, particularly heirloom varieties, come in a range of shapes and colors, including white, gold, red, pink, purple, and blue.

Many people find comfort in the reliable familiarity of potatoes. This short verse by John Tyler sums up the sentiment.

         Pray for peace and grace and spiritual food.

         For wisdom and guidance, for all these are good.

         But don’t forget the potatoes.

Our new potatoes have come in so I have had potatoes on my mind. Nothing is as delicious as new little potatoes, cooked quickly with a little butter added at the end. We do take potatoes for granted and many are on their case for being full of starch, but what would the South be without some good old potato salad, mashed potatoes, potato cakes, and fries? I say eat those potatoes, maybe not at every meal!

Taken from June 2014 ‘Southern Living’

Parslied New Potatoes

2 Tbsp. Butter

2 Tbsp. canola oil

2Tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 ½ cups milk

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. sugar

Salt and black pepper

2 lb. new potatoes, quartered, boiled until tender and drained

¼ cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Melt butter with oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Whisk in milk and next 3 ingredients and cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over potatoes; toss to coat. Serves 8.

Taken from The New Southern Garden Cookbook by Sheri Castle.

Summer Vegetable Potato Salad

Makes 8 servings.

1 ½ lbs. small waxy potatoes, left whole or cut into large bite-sized chunks

3 tablespoons dry white wine

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar or rice vinegar

8 ounces slender green beans or yellow wax beans, ends trimmed

1 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup thinly sliced red onion

1 cup whole miniature tomatoes as many colors as possible

¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, add ½ teaspoon kosher salt per cup of water; reduce the heat, and cook at a low boil only until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 15 minutes. Do not overcook them or they will start to fall apart and get waterlogged. Drain them in a colander and return them to the hot pot to let any remaining moisture evaporate away. Spread the hot potatoes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with wine and vinegar, and let cool to room temperature. The potatoes will absorb most of the liquid as they cool. Transfer the cooled potatoes and any standing liquid into a large bowl.

Fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add ½ teaspoon kosher salt per cup of water. Add the beans and cook until barely tender, 5 to 8 minutes, depending on their size. Transfer with a slotted spoon into the ice water to stop the cooking and set the color. Drain well, pat dry, and set aside.

Whisk together the mustard, salt, pepper, and oil in a medium bowl. Pour over the potatoes and stir gently until the potatoes are coated. Stir in the beans, onion, and tomatoes. If the salad seems dry, drizzle in a little more olive oil. Season with additional salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir in the parsley and basil. Serve at room temperature.

 

 

 

Wilmington's Greek Festival '14

We were in Wilmington, North Carolina last week getting our beach house ready for summer rental. I always dread the week, since it is not really a week at the beach but lots of work! After 6 straight days of  cleaning, painting, and buying new things we had it organized again for another year.

The one nice thing about this week was the Greek Festival which went on for 3 days while we were there. I really like Greek food but do not cook it as often as I should. We ate there two days in a row and it was convenient since they now have a drive-through area by the church so you do not have to get out and park and fight the crowds.  We had a gyro sandwich for both days and then bought a dinner plate which included moussaka, green beans with a tomato sauce and rice. As we were driving through, one of the ladies helping to serve asked, “How do you say moussaka?” She must not be Greek we thought. I have given a recipe for moussaka in the past and most of us know it is a dish consisting of layers of ground lamb or beef and sliced eggplant topped with a cheese sauce. The gyro sandwich is lamb, beef, or chicken stuffed in a fat pita bread with tomatoes, onions and a cucumber-yogurt tzatziki sauce. The Greeks in Wilmington know how to do this well. I will say eating my gyro and watching the waves come in was a small pleasure for being at the beach!

On returning home I got out my trusty old Greek cookbook (bought in Charleston probably 30 years ago) and found a recipe which I have never done called pastichio with spinach. Pastichio is a macaroni pie baked with a center of ground beef. Well, I had some grass-fed ground beef and some macaroni so I was good to go. This is a good recipe and would be good for a crowd. Just add some good garlic bread and a Greek salad and you can have your own Greek festival at home.

Pastichio with Spinach

Makes 6 servings.

Meat layer:

1lb. grass-fed ground beef

½ cup chopped onions

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

Dash of allspice

 1 small can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup water

Brown ground beef, onion, garlic, and seasonings in butter. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water, and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes.

Macaroni Layer:

8 oz. macaroni, cooked and drained (I used penne but any small pasta would do)

4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1 cup grated Romano cheese plus ¼ cup grated for topping the casserole

Toss cooked macaroni with melted butter and grated cheese until thoroughly blended.

Spinach Layer:

2 10oz. packages frozen chopped spinach

½  cup bread crumbs or 1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1 tablespoon grated onion

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

¾ cup mashed Feta cheese

Defrost frozen spinach by allowing to stand at room temperature. Squeeze excess moisture from spinach, and combine with remaining ingredients. Correct seasoning, if necessary.

To Bake: In an 8”x12” greased casserole dish, arrange half of macaroni. Spread with spinach mixture, then remaining macaroni. Spread meat sauce evenly over all. Sprinkle with the ¼ cup grated cheese. Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting in squares.

Kali orexi!