Big packet of recipes this week with lots of fava bean ideas. And if you have the ingredients and half an inclination, please make the Portuguese soup with chard, beans, and cilantro! I also had a recipe for a carrot, faro and dill salad a few weeks ago which would be well-suited to this week’s share contents as well. Enjoy!
Recipes
Lettuce Management
Fava Bean Notes
Fava Beans with Yogurt and Herbs
Fava Bean Puree
Grilled Favas
Bacon, Fava Bean and Summer Squash Pasta
Portuguese Cilantro, Chard, White Bean and Bread Soup
Potato, Carrot, Onion and Bacon Fry
Dilled Carrot Spears
Lettuce Management
Staying on top of lettuce takes a little work. It’s completely worth it but here are a few tricks/methods I employ to keep things interesting on the salad front. . and keep those beautiful heads from going slimy and brown.
Washing and storing:
If you’re having a hard time staying on top of the lettuce, wash enough for two big salads soon after you pick up your share. My preferred way to store the washed lettuce is rolled up in clean, dishtowels. This is actually my preferred drying technique and it stores well that way, or a couple of days. You can put the rolled up lettuce-filled towels in a plastic bag and store in the fridge.
Crunchy additions:
Keep sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds, and/or walnuts or hazelnuts on hand. Pumpkin seeds take just a few minutes to toast in a dry skillet and sunflower seeds toast best in a 300 degree oven with some salt and olive oil. Walnuts and hazelnuts toast well in an oven—no salt or oil needed—as well. And they all add so much to salads.
If you have a slice or two of nice crusty bread that needs using you can toast it and then tear it into little pieces and add it your salad for a little chew and heft.
Dressing variations:
Add a couple of teaspoons of mayo (homemade or store bought) or Greek yogurt to a typical vinaigrette made with a little Dijon-style mustard, red wine vinegar or lemon juice, and a little good olive oil, s & p for a slightly creamier dressing. Dress your lettuce with this, add ½ cup of toasted sunflower seeds and some thinly sliced Walla Walla Sweets and you’re in business.
Add ground cumin, lime or lemon zest and some red pepper flakes to a typical vinaigrette or the creamy version above.
Add a couple of tablespoons of smashed avocado to your dressing. Lime or lemon juice and some minced garlic is a good combination for this one.
Fruity additions:
Add chopped sweet cherries or blueberries or peaches to your green salads. If you have a little goat cheese or feta, that would be a good combo as well.
Fava Bean Notes
Fava beans are a treat and can be a bit labor intensive. Typically people take the beans out of their squishy pods and then blanch the beans in boiling water for a few minutes and then pinch the skin off each individual bean. I did that for years and they are delicious that way—you can eat them as is with some olive oil and salt, add them to pasta or risotto or soup, etc. Or you can use the Middle Eastern method described below where you cook them in heavily salted water in their big pods and don’t shell each bean. It’s much less work and equally delicious though a very different kind of dish. Experiment and see what you like. I’ve almost exclusively switched to the latter method because it’s just so easy and delicious.
Fava Beans with Yogurt and Herbs
Serves ~4 as a side
A local farmer (Carol Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm) taught me about this method of cooking fava beans which eliminates the time consuming step of peeling each individual bean. This is a Persian/Iranian way of cooking favas that is not only easy but very nutritious since many of the nutrients are in the fava bean skins. This dish is good with parsley, but also basil, mint or cilantro or a combination.
2 pounds fava beans in their pods (or however much you have)
¼ cup kosher salt (yes, this is the right quantity, not a misprint)
1/3 cup Greek yogurt or plain, whole milk yogurt (or more if you want it saucier)
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley (I’ve never made this with dill but you might try it–not so traditional but probably good)
1 -2 teaspoons lemon juice (to taste)
Zest of one lemon, finely grated
1 medium clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bring a six-quart (or larger) pot of water, to which you’ve added the salt, to a boil. Put the whole fava bean pods into the boiling water and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat so the water stays at a rapid simmer and cook covered, until the pods start falling apart, between 20 and 30 minutes. Taste an individual fava bean after 20 or so minutes. If the skin on the bean is still a little tough keep cooking. If you have the time you can let the fava beans cool in the water once they’re tender. That further softens the skins. If not, drain off of the hot water fill pot of beans with cold water to speed the cooling. Remove beans from pods without peeling each bean. The skin should be tender and the beans perfectly seasoned. Toss beans with the remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning to your liking. Enjoy as a side dish or with crusty bread or tossed with cold pasta for a hearty salad.
Fava beans cooked this way (and without the dressing) are delicious with pasta and a bit of parmesan, with boiled potatoes and parsley. I’ve added them to Israeli couscous with some mint and grated, hard cheese.
Fava Bean Puree
Another of favorite things to do with fava beans is to puree them into a lovely, bright green spread.
This is just a simple technique so I won’t list precise quantities. Use as many favas as you’d like. You’ll end up eating it by the spoonful.
Pop the beans out of their pods and cook them in salted boiling water for about 2 minutes. Rinse in cold water and pinch the skin off each bean. Then cook the beans in some olive oil and a splash of water until soft, about 10 minutes.
Now you can either put them in a food processor or a bowl and use a wooden spoon to mash/process them with olive oil, a bit of minced garlic, a little minced rosemary or lots of freshly chopped mint, a bit of lemon juice and salt and pepper. Process or mash until all is well mixed and fairly uniform. Adjust seasoning with more oil, lemon, salt and pepper.
Spread the puree on toasted bread.
Ignacio Matta’s Grilled Favas
— from Food52.com
This recipe is brilliant. I first tried whole grilled fava beans (including the pods) at the Gathering Together Farm booth at a farmers’ market this season. Then I found this recipe, which is incredibly good. You can also just grill them with olive oil and salt and a squeeze of lemon with the same method. But all the extra goodies are worth it. And it seems like a lot of anchovies but it is well balanced. And if you don’t have a grill, a smoking hot cast iron pan works too—just turn your fan on high and open the windows.
Serves 4 to 6
1 pound fresh fava beans in their pods, the smallest ones you have
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground chile pepper
1 teaspoon picked rosemary
3 to 4 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more to finish
2 tablespoons water
1 lemon
6 canned anchovies in oil, chopped finely
1 handful toasted bread crumbs (optional
Mix first 7 ingredients together in a large bowl. Toss to coat the fava pods, then place them on the grill over medium-high heat.
Grill favas for several minutes, until charred, then flip them over and char the other side, cooking until the pods seem about to open.
Remove pods from grill, return them to the mixing bowl, and squeeze the lemon over them. Toss the pods to coat. Check the seasoning, and add salt if necessary.
Add the anchovies to the bowl, mixing well.
Place the pods on a serving platter, drizzle to taste with olive oil, and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top, if using. Serve hot or at room temperature; eat with your hands or with forks and knives, depending on how messy you want to get.
Bacon, Fava Bean and Summer Squash Pasta
You might also call this “CSA pasta”. You can use the principle/technique with a variety of vegetables. This combination is very nice.
Remove the individual fava beans from from about 1 1/2 lbs of beans in pods and then blanch the beans in boiling water for a 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water and then pinch the skin off each individual bean.
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 slices bacon, diced
½ medium onion, diced
2 small-medium summer squash (or more if you’d like), cut in half lengthwise and then cut into thin half-rounds (or comparable size pieces if crookneck or patty pan squash)
Blanched and peeled fava beans from about 1 1/2 lbs of beans in pods
¾ lb penne, fusilli, rigatoni or other similarly shaped pasta
2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil
½-3/4 cup grated Parmesan (or other hard grating cheese)
½ cup pasta cooking water
Salt and pepper
In the largest skillet you have heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and bacon and cook, stirring often for about 5 minutes. Add the squash and fava beans and several generous pinches of salt, sauté, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. You can add a bit more oil or splash of water if it’s sticking or if the fava beans seem chalky.
You can either go the route of browning the vegetables and keeping them quite dry or add that splash of water and go for more of ragout—either way is good.
Meanwhile cook your pasta in a plenty of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Be sure to scoop out about ½ cup of pasta cooking water right before you drain the pasta.
In a large bowl (or the pasta cooking pot, mix the pasta, the bacon vegetable mixture, the parmesan, basil and about ¼ cup pasta cooking water. Mix very well, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. You can serve with more basil and/or grated Parmesan if you like.
Portuguese Cilantro, Chard, White Bean and Bread Soup
This may not sound as outstanding as it is, but it is! I’ve adapted it a bit for the share this week and I keep hoping for a share when you get both cilantro and chard but you have the chard this week so pick up a bunch of cilantro if you’re out and about. The original recipe calls for lots of leeks but the Walla Walla Sweets this week are a good substitute.
If you have pre-cooked or canned white beans this comes together quickly. And it may not seem like soup weather but it’s ALWAYS the right weather for this soup in my home. It’s definitely in my top three all time favorite soups.
Serves four (with plenty of leftovers)
1 cup dried white beans or 3 cups cooked beans or 1 14 oz. can of cannelini or other white beans
2 tbs olive oil
1 – 2 large sweet onions, diced (about 2 cups, chopped)
5 large cloves garlic
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups packed cilantro
one bunch chard, stems removed, coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
sliced crusty bread (4 slices)
4 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Soak beans for 8 hours, drain and then cook them in fresh water with one clove of the garlic until tender but still retaining their shape. Drain and set aside. You can also use canned beans.
Heat olive oil in a large pot. Sauté the onions in olive oil until limp. Add three cloves of garlic, minced. Continue sautéing until the garlic is soft but not brown about 2 minutes, lower heat as needed. Add four cups of the stock and set to a simmer. Add the beans and continue to simmer. Add the chard to the soup pot and cook for a few minutes. Blend the cilantro with the reserved 2 cups of bouillon in a blender. Add the cilantro mixture and season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a rapid simmer. Crack eggs into soup, cover and let poach about 5 minutes until the yolks and whites are just set.
While eggs are cooking toast the bread slices and rub with remaining garlic cloves. If you are not fond of garlic, rub lightly on only one side. Garlic lovers can go for both sides. Lay the bread in the bottom of a soup bowl. Ladle the soup over. Top with poached egg and drizzle with good olive oil and a few grinds of pepper.
Potato, Carrot, Onion and Bacon Fry
This is a technique anyone who grew up with a vegetable garden (or CSA share) probably employs. You could call it the cast iron skillet method—that’s what it was in my house growing up. As long as you have a heavy, large skillet you can cook most anything this way with tasty results. And when I’m short on time and veggies need using, it’s an easy choice. Tonight I did this with new potatoes, broccoli and bacon.
2 medium potatoes, well scrubbed but no need to peel and diced
2 carrots, well scrubbed (no need to peel) and thinly sliced on the bias
½ a large Walla Walla Sweet, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into half-rounds
2-3 strips bacon, diced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Chopped dill for serving
Heat a little olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Add the bacon and cook for just a minute or two then add the onions, carrots, potatoes and several generous pinches of sat. Stir well and cook over high heat for a couple of minutes undisturbed. Then turn the heat down a bit (you want to brown the potatoes and onions but not scorch) and cook stirring occasionally. Cover the pan if you’re in hurry. Ideally you’re not crowding the pan too much so the vegetables brown nicely and don’t steam. Use two skillets if you’re crowding things.
Cook until everything is tender to your liking. Top with chopped fresh herbs, dill in this case would be great, a fried or poached egg or nothing at all.
Dilled Carrot Spears
–adapted from Pickled, Preserving a World of Tastes and Traditions by Lucy Norris
makes 4 pints
This is a very simple pickled carrot recipe. These slightly spicy spears are lovely in a Bloody Mary and of course for snacking at any time or with cured meats and cheeses, etc.
4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
4 (1-2-inch long) hot red chili peppers (or ½ -1 teaspoon red pepper flakes)
4 sprigs fresh dill
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into spears
2 ½ cups distilled white wine vinegar
¼ cup coarse salt (kosher or pickling salt)
2 ½ cups water
Sterilize your pint jars and lids (according to manufacturer instructions or here for some tips: http://www.simplebites.net/canning-101-the-basics/)
In each pint-sized jar, place 1 clove garlic, 1 chili and I sprig dill, then pack the carrot spears vertically into the jars.
Combine the vinegar, salt, fennel seeds and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour the hot brine over the carrots, leaving at least ¼-inch free at the top of each jar. Remove any air bubbles by tapping the jar, then screw on the lids. Process the jars in a hot-water bath for 10 minutes to seal.
Allow the jars to cool, then store in a cool, dark place for at least 3 weeks before tasting.