Two years ago we had a great trip out west. We spent a couple of days with our good friends in Denver and then headed over to Lake Tahoe where we spent another week celebrating our friends' engagement. One of the nights in Tahoe, we hired a private chef to cook dinner for our group. It was amazing and I distinctly remember these little crostini with fava bean puree being outstanding. Since then, I've been wanting to recreate it, and last week, I got a recipe in my inbox from Chow.com that seemed similar...I just adapted it a little bit. It turned out great, but now I realize why we have only ever had this when a private chef was cooking...fava beans are way labor intensive! They come in a long pod that you must break open and remove the beans. Then you have to put the beans in salted boiling water and cook them for a few minutes to soften them up. Then you have to plunge the beans in an ice bath to STOP the cooking and THEN peel off the outer skin of the bean to expose the soft inner bean. Sound like a pain? It is! So, although the final result was very tasty and looked great when plated, I would stick to having a private chef cook these for you (OR if you can find them already shelled and peeled, then you are good to go). If you DO decide that you have an hour with nothing better to do than tend to beans, here's the recipe! If not, make the white bean puree recipe I gave you a couple of weeks ago, slap it on some crostini and call it a day. Enjoy!
Fava Bean Puree Crostini
Adapted from Chow.com
Makes 1 1/2 cups
- Salt
- 3 cups fava beans, removed from their pods (from about 3 to 4 pounds of favas in their pods)
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 medium thyme sprig
- 1 (6-inch) rosemary sprig
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1/2 medium lemon)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan cheese (cut into shavings with potato peeler)
Prepare an ice water bath by filling a large bowl halfway with ice and water; set aside.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the shelled favas and boil until the bean inside the outer skin is bright green and firm but not hard, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the favas and immediately place in the ice water bath until cool. Peel the light green skin from each bean to reveal two bright green inner halves, discard the skins, and place the beans in a medium bowl.
Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the reserved favas and stir to coat with oil. Add the water, thyme, and rosemary and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, about 10 minutes more. (Add more water as needed, a tablespoon at a time, to keep the beans from sticking to the pan.)
Remove and discard the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Transfer the fava mixture to a blender and blend on low until coarsely chopped. Transfer a third of the chopped fava mixture to a small bowl. Continue to blend until the remaining fava mixture is finely puréed. If the purée is too thick, add water a tablespoon at a time to reach the desired consistency. Transfer the purée to the bowl with the reserved chopped favas. Stir in the lemon juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with additional olive oil if desired. Top with Parm shavings. Serve warm or at room
temperature.
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