Hear that sound?  That snapin, popin sound?  Right now its fava time. That’s the sound of fava pods being broken open and those beauteous orbs of flavor hitting the bowl.  If you grow some in the backyard my hat’s off to you.  Here in the Bay Area we plant them in November and let them grow, ever so slowly, over the winter.  My experience is that they have a terrific germination rate (near 100%) and require little or no watering.  Come late April you’ll be blessed with an amazing crop of beans.  There is no downside to this.  Maybe the easiest thing you’ll every grow.

Many folks cringe and complain about the prep.  Shucking, blanching, slipping out of the inner skin.  Honestly its worth the effort.  Many hands make lite work.  Get a partner and you’ll be done in no time.  We bang out cases of these in restaurant kitchens without any thought.  Its spring, this is what’s at market, this is what we cook, what we serve and eat.

Here is one of many dishes we’ve been serving up this year.  There are several important things going on here.  First you’re eating with the seasons.  Two, the combination of fresh and dried legumes gives you a nice protein boost to your meal. (Around 12grams per serving)  The onion salata while also being uber-seasonal provides a great counterpoint to the beans and adds tons of flavor with very few calories.  And this dish is vegan as well as gluten free.

Serves 4 people as a side dish or six as an appetizer.

• 1 lb fava beans, prepped, blanched and slipped out of their inner skin.
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)  Start with 1/2 cup dried.  Cover with plenty of water, bring to simmer and let cook slowly for 1 1/2 hours until soft.  Drain and set aside.
• 2 spring onions, washed, trimmed and sliced very thinly.(about 1 cup with out the greens)
• 1 tablespoons chopped olives (green or black just make sure there good)
• juice of 1/2 a lemon and its zest (1 1/2 tablespoon juice)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped mint
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup water

In a small bowl combine the thin sliced spring onions, chopped olive, parsley, half the salt and black pepper with the lemon zest and juice.  With your fingers separate the rings of the onion.  Set aside and let sit for 20 minutes or so.

In a large sauté pan combine the cooked chickpeas with the water and olive oil.  Bring to a simmer.

Cook for about 2 minutes over a lowish flame.  Next add the prepped fava beans and toss, toss, toss.  Warm up together

When hot add the rest of the salt to season.  Turn out onto an attractive bowl and garnish with the spring onion salata.

Easy as pie.

Here are the numbers.

Nutrition Facts Serving Size  (231g) Servings Per Container

Amount Per Serving Calories 270    Calories from Fat 90    % Daily Value Total Fat 10 g 15 %  Saturated Fat 1.5 g 8 %  Trans Fat 0 g    Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %  Sodium 200 mg 8 %  Total Carbohydrate 34 g 11 %  Dietary Fiber 10 g 40 %  Sugars 5 g    Protein 12 g

Vitamin A   10 %  Vitamin C   70 %  Calcium   6 %  Iron   25 %