Fava Puree Recipes

Steps:

• Place beans in a bowl, cover with water and soak overnight. Drain and remove skins.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onions and saute until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the reserved beans, sugar, salt to taste, and water. Stir to blend, then cover pan and simmer for 45 minutes, or until beans are very soft. Add the lemon juice, simmer for 5 more minutes, and taste for seasoning.
• Puree bean mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth, then transfer to a bowl and chill until firm. To serve, either garnish the top with fresh dill, or invert puree onto a serving dish and garnish with the dill and lemon slices.

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil as you shell the beans from: 4 pounds fava beans.
• Blanch quickly in the boiling water and then cool in ice water. Drain and pop the beans out of their skins. Heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan: 1/2 cup olive oil.
• Add the fava beans with: 4 garlic cloves, sliced, 1 branch rosemary, Salt, 1/2 cup water.
• Cook until the fava beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, and adding more water as necessary. The beans are done when they can be crushed easily with the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Mash with a spoon or pass them through a food mill. Stir in: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil.
• Taste and season with salt as needed. Thin with water if necessary. Serve right away or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Place the fava beans in a pot and add 1 quart water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt to taste (1 rounded teaspoon or more) and continue to simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until favas are tender.
• Set a strainer over a bowl and drain favas. Set aside 1 cup broth.
• Transfer beans to a food processor along with the mashed garlic. Run the processor until the beans are crushed, then add 4 tablespoons olive oil and run until incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Add some of the reserved cooking water to thin the purée so it has the consistency of runny hummus. (You will need to add more broth later because the purée will stiffen as it cools.) Taste, adjust salt and season with pepper.
• Transfer puréed favas to a metal bowl using a rubber spatula. Place remaining reserved broth in a small saucepan and heat. Place metal bowl over saucepan to keep fava purée warm.
• Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil over high heat, salt generously and add pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente (usually 6 to 8 minutes depending on the brand).
• Use the warm broth to thin out the fava purée. Draw a small amount of pasta water from the pot and use it to warm a large serving bowl, then drain it from the bowl.
• A few seconds before draining pappardelle, add arugula to pot, then drain arugula and pasta together. Immediately toss with the fava purée, chives and additional olive oil if desired. If purée seems too thick, add more of the broth and toss again. Serve at once, topping each serving with ground almonds. Pass Parmesan at the table.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Cut the baguette on the diagonal into twelve 1/4-inch-thick slices. (You may have leftover bread.) Brush both sides of each slice generously with olive oil (about 1/4 cup in all). Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven 10 to 12 minutes, until golden and crispy but still tender in the center. While the toasts are warm, rub them with one of the garlic cloves.
• Mince the remaining garlic clove.
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, remove the beans from their pods.
• Blanch the beans for about 2 minutes in the boiling water. Drain the beans in a colander, cool them in the ice water, and then slip them out of their pale green shells with your fingers.
• Heat a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the remaining 3/4 cup olive oil, the rosemary sprig, and the chile. Let them sizzle in the oil a minute or two, then stir in the minced garlic. Let it sizzle for a minute and stir in the fava beans, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. Simmer the beans 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they're tender (the exact time will depend on the starchiness of the favas). Strain the beans, reserving the oil. Discard the rosemary and chile.
• Transfer the beans into a food processor and purée them. With the motor running, pour in half the reserved oil slowly, until the purée is velvety smooth. Once the purée is smooth, pour in more of the reserved olive oil to taste. Squeeze in some lemon juice, and taste for seasoning. (The amount of oil you will need depends on the starchiness of the beans.)
• In a small bowl, toss the olives and parsley with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Crumble in the feta, tossing gently to combine.
• Spoon the warm fava bean purée onto a platter. Place the grilled toasts off to one side, and scatter the feta-olive salad over the purée.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Drop the shelled fava beans in the water, and boil five minutes (if the beans are small or medium-size) to eight minutes (if the beans are large). Transfer the beans immediately to the cold water. Do not drain the water in the pot. Allow the beans to cool for several minutes, then drain and slip off their skins.
• Place the skinned fava beans, salt and mashed garlic in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Turn on the machine, and with the machine running, add the olive oil in a slow stream. Process until you achieve a smooth purée. If necessary, add enough of the cooking water to give the purée a soft, hummuslike consistency. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, taste and adjust seasoning.
• Mound the purée onto an earthenware platter or in a wide bowl. Garnish with olives, and serve with crostini or warm triangles of pita bread.