Ingredient Spotlight - Fava Beans; Recipe - Fresh Fava Beans with Tomato and Pecorino



from Popscreen.com

Can anyone in the US hear the word “favas” without thinking of Hannibal Lecter and his nice Chee-antee? (It’s one of my favorite movies, but I still curse it for launching 100,000 mispronunciations of my favorite wine!) Outside of mentions in movie references, favas are not often featured in American cuisine. The Italians, however, have been spinning up great fava bean dishes for centuries, and the June issue of La Cucina Italiana features an entire spread of recipes starring these beans.

Tonight, I spotted a basket of fresh fava pods in Savenor’s market, so I added a few handfuls to my bag. Originally, I was going to bring them home and set them aside until I procured the ingredients necessary to make one of La Cucina’s recipes, but instead, I chose to use them immediately and make one of my tried-and-true springtime favorites - favas with tomato and pecorino.

If you come across fresh fava bean pods during your next trip to the market, be sure to try this recipe. It takes some time, but the fresh, clean flavors make it worth the effort.

Fresh Fava Beans with Tomato and Pecorino

4 lb. / 1.75 kilo favas in pods (about 4 c. when shelled)
4 medium sized fresh tomatoes, seeded and cut into small dice
4 T / 60 g pecorino romano, chopped or coarsely grated
1 large clove garlic, crushed with the flat edge of a knife
5 T / 75 mL top-quality olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 t. / 15 g smoked sea salt

First, you must prepare the favas. This step can be done ahead of time. Some people like to boil the pods whole and then shell them, but I prefer to peel the pods open and pop the individual beans out - it takes a little longer, but if you’re cooking with others, this is a great shared task to do over a glass of wine and some great conversation. Or, if you’re cooking alone, pop on your hands-free headset and call someone you haven’t talked to in a while, or do it while you’re watching your favorite TV show.

Once the favas are out of the pods, boil them for 1-2 minutes in boiling water. Once they’ve cooked for about 2 minutes and they’ve swelled a bit, drain them immediately and rinse in cold water. Now, you’re ready to slip the beans out of their skins - simply pierce the skins with your thumbnail and squeeze; the bean should pop right out. Once the skin is removed from all the beans, you’re ready to prepare the salad.

Combine the shelled and peeled favas with the tomatoes, pecorino, garlic, and olive oil. Gently stir to combine. Refrigerate for about an hour, checking at 10-15 minute intervals to gently toss.

Once the salad has chilled for at least an hour, remove the garlic clove, and add the smoked salt and a generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine, and serve in individual bowls with a crisp Italian white wine.


Nutritional info: 4 servings. Per serving - 505 calories, 22 g fat, 34.6 g carbohydrates, 24.2 g protein

Feeding Tube Diets: It’s Official; the World Has Gone Mad

It’s not too often that I see a news headline that actually shocks me. I’m used to the media’s “if it bleeds, it leads” approach to journalism, but this one left me with a deer-in-headlights stare, asking myself, “Did I read that right?!?”

The K-E Diet: Brides-to-Be Using Feeding Tubes to Rapidly Shed Pounds  

Photo taken from Yahoo/ABC News link

After reading the entire story, my brain morphed into a melting pot of shock, anger, confusion, pity, scorn, and frustration. Once my head stopped spinning, I sunk into a low place of despondency and helplessness.

As my loyal readers know, I do not believe in restrictive dieting. I believe that food is a great source of pleasure, and we should not deny ourselves that pleasure. That being said, I don’t encourage overindulgence and gluttony. I sigh and shake my head when I hear people expressing the belief that enjoyment can only be achieved by eating portions large enough to feed an entire county, desserts that contain a month’s worth of sugar, and extreme combinations of meat, cheese, and fats that are overly processed and deep-fried to the point where one cannot distinguish the individual flavors of each ingredient.

On the other end of the spectrum is the diet industry. I abhor the concept of restrictive dieting, and I am sickened by the things that people are willing to do to themselves in order to drop a few pounds. As we get wider and otherwise less healthy, the diet industry laughs all the way to the bank. This makes me so angry, not only at the diet companies, but at our society in general. What have we become? We’re more willing to spend obscene amounts of money on books, powders, potions, pills, and other snake oils when simply buying and eating more fresh vegetables and taking the stairs instead of the elevator would produce more sustainable results.

People receive praise, or at least social acceptance, when they prove that they’re willing to kill themselves at the gym, malnourish their bodies, and choose drastic surgical options like gastric bypass and liposuction, all because carrying a few extra pounds is viewed as a mortal sin in our culture. Offenses such as lying, cheating, and stealing are often waived off and sometimes even encouraged, but gaining ten pounds is unforgiveable. I hate watching what people, especially women, are willing to do to themselves just to conform to some random, arbitrary societal standard that changes every five minutes and rarely has anything to do with physical or emotional health. And just when I thought nothing the diet industry foists onto the masses could shock me, I find out that women are willfully shoving feeding tubes up their noses just to fit into goddamn dresses?!?

I have no choice but to close my eyes, lower my head, and say, “I give up.” I can spout off about the joys of eating real food. I can lend my Michael Pollan books to everybody in my social circle. I can write blogs and send tweets and encourage my representatives to vote in favor of truth in food labeling, ending industrial agriculture, limiting food marketing targeting children, taxing soft drinks, and supporting small organic farmers, but what the hell good is it going to do? If it’s not dirt-cheap and it’s not a quick fix, nobody fucking cares.

I am struggling to keep my composure and not cry as I write this post. Our culture is broken beyond repair, and it breaks my heart to know that I can’t fix it.

Chickpea and Rice Salad with Lime Pickle

“If you marry him, you’ll live on pickles and rice!” So goes the admonition of Indian fathers in many of the curry-flavored versions of the familiar Gatsby-esque Rich Girl/Poor Boy love story. Thanks to a Groupon for Shalimar, an Indian market in Cambridge, MA, I was able to try these famed pickles, and frankly, I don’t understand why living on pickles and rice is a bad thing!

Lime pickle is made throughout India and in other Southeast Asian countries as well. Recipes often vary from region to region - some versions use sesame oil, others use castor or peanut oil. The spice blends also vary. Once blended, the pickle mix is set aside for at least two weeks, and then it is ready to be used as a condiment or a punchy seasoning, as I’ve done in the recipe below.

If you do not have a reputable Indian grocery in your area, jars of lime pickle can be purchased online via Amazon.


Chickpea and Rice Salad with Lime Pickle

2 ears fresh corn, kernels removed
½ c. / 115g. lime pickle
2 16oz / 439g cans chickpeas, drained
1 8.5oz / 240g can Le Sueur peas, drained
1 large tomato, chopped
½ t / 2g brown mustard seeds
½ t / 2g yellow mustard seeds
½ t / 2g ground cumin
2t. / 10mL malt vinegar
3 c. steamed basmati rice
Handful chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

First, prepare the corn by microwaving the fresh corn kernels for one minute. Alternatively, heat them in a pan with a splash of water, cook them for a minute or two, then drain. Set aside.

If the lime chunks in your lime pickle are large, use a sharp knife and chop them into small bits.

Now, combine the corn, the lime pickle, and all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until blended well. Cover with plastic film and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Serve cold, or serve hot with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream.

* Usually, I post at least one photo with my recipes.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of this one before I ate all the leftovers.  OOPS!

Nutrition information: serves 6. 488 calories, 7.7g fat, 59.6g carbohydrates, 15.3g protein

Orechiette with Sausage, King Oyster Mushrooms, and Roasted Red Pepper Crème

Sausage and peppers - a classic flavor combo that really can’t be beat! Whether served on some sort of toasted bread, spooned over pasta, or stewed together and served as a simple side dish, this is one pairing that everyone seems to love in one form or another.

For every written recipe for sausage and peppers, there must be 100 unwritten variations, passed down over time from one person to the next. Here, I tried an unusual variation, roasting and pureeing the peppers, and blending them into a creamy sauce with bits of hot Italian sausage, shallot, pecorino romano, and flavorful, meaty mushrooms.

I chose king oyster mushrooms for this recipe because of their ability to hold their firm texture during cooking. These large, trumpet-shaped mushrooms (shown left) are recognized by their thick, trunk-like stems and a small caps, and they may be labeled with other names, such as king trumpet mushroom, French horn mushroom, trumpet royale, or in an Asian market, xing bao gu or eringi. Although the flavor is not overpoweringly rich, the texture is very meaty, so if you cannot find these, substitute a mushroom like portabella or porcini - something with a texture that won’t wilt and become lifeless during cooking.

Try this recipe when you need a break from the same old sausage and peppers!


Orechiette with Sausage, King Oyster Mushrooms, and Roasted Red Pepper Crème

16 oz. orechiette or other short pasta
Splash olive oil
8 oz / 230 g hot Italian sausage, removed from casing
8 oz / 230 g king oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 large shallot, minced
2-3 red bell peppers, roasted*
1 cup / 240 ml dry white wine
½ c. / 115 g coarsely grated pecorino romano
Handful basil, cut chiffonade-style
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra basil leaves, to garnish

Cook the pasta in salted water. In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot, then add the sausage. Brown the sausage for a minute or two, then add the mushrooms and the shallot. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the sausage is browned, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large chunks of sausage into smaller bits.

While the sausage, mushrooms, and shallots are cooking, put the roasted red bell peppers and the white wine in a blender or food processor, and puree until mo large chunks remain and the mixture is somewhat emulsified.

Once the sausage has cooked, add the red pepper and wine puree to the pot with the sausage. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or so, stirring frequently to ensure that the sauce is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Next, add the pecorino and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the pecorino has melted and blended completely into the sauce.

Finally, drain the pasta and add the cooked, drained pasta to the pot with the sauce (if the mixture seems a little dry, add a small splash of the pasta cooking water). Stir until each piece of pasta is coated with sauce, then add in the basil, salt and pepper. Give the pasta mix a few gentle stirs to work in the basil, then serve in a decorative bowl or on individual plates, garnished with the extra basil leaves.

* As I’ve said many a time, roasted red peppers in a jar ALWAYS taste like roasted red peppers in a jar. Roasting them yourself gives a much better flavor, and it is very easy. Click here for instructions on how to roast red peppers!

Nutrition facts: Serves four.  858 calories, 11.5 g fat, 100 g carbohydrates, 35 g protein