Fava beans, broad beans, fool beans, or whatever you may call them, are a delicious, nutritious, and unusual treat. I had recently tasted a lentil salad with lemon peel in it, which inspired me to try adding a twist to these hearty Middle Eastern beans.
Note: Some peel the outer shell of the bean after boiling. My beans were soft enough that I didn’t find this to be necessary, but if you prefer a softer bean, you can feel free to add this step.
Lemony-Garlicky Fresh Fava Beans
I haven’t listed any quantities, because it’s really a matter of taste… I used about 2 cups beans, juice of 1 lemon, plus about 1/4 peel, 4 large cloves garlic, a generous swirl of high-quality extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
Ingredients
- Fresh fava beans
- Lemon
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Remove fava beans from pods, and boil in salted water until tender
- Juice the lemon, and remove the white pith from half of the peel
- Chop the desired quantity of lemon peel very finely
- Crush the garlic
- While beans are still warm, add the garlic, lemon juice, lemon peel, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste
- Serve warm or cold as a side dish or salad
- Best enjoyed with a nice Chianti 😉