Cooking it Fresh: Fava Beans

Jul 03 2011

Cooking it Fresh: Fava Beans

I'm going to keep this short and sweet because it's a holiday weekend. This farro dish perfectly captures the best of late June's (and now, July's) offerings. It's brimming with fava beans, shelled peas, cherry tomatoes, and spring onions. Each fork full seems better than the previous.

And though I normally feel somewhat guilty about going back for thirds (there's no guilt over seconds!), I only felt satisfaction after my third plate. With the exception of olive oil--which is a healthy fat anyways--there's not a single thing in here that isn't good for you.

Our favas and peas came from Norwich Meadows and the first of the season cherry tomatoes were from Stokes Farm. This is a perfect dish for a 4th of July picnic. Enjoy the weekend!

Mid Summer Farro Salad with Fava Beans, Peas, and Tomatoes

Serves 4

Recipe Adapted from Italian Food Forever

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups farro

Salt & Pepper

1 cup spring peas, shelled & blanched

1 1/2 cups fava beans (roughly 2 lbs), podded, blanched, & skinned

2 small spring onions, peeled & diced

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 bunch parsley, chopped

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1) Cook the farro 5 cups of salted, boiling water until tender to the bite, roughly 40 minutes. Drain well and let cool to room temperature.

2) Place the vegetables and parsley in a large serving bowl and add your cooled farro.

3) Mix together the oil, vinegar, sailor & pepper with a fork until well blended. Add 1/3rd of the dressing to the farro mixture and toss well.

4) Taste and add additional dressing and salt & pepper as needed. Serve at room temperature.