Fresh fava beans are a spring treat found in Mediterranean and farmers' markets.
Fava beans are a popular, nutrient-rich food that appears in traditional Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. Find them during the spring at Mediterranean and farmer's markets. Toss fava beans with lemon juice and salt for a healthy snack. Add them to soups, pasta, meat dishes or vegetables for added protein and fiber. Cooks usually peel and then parboil favas for up to an hour, but you can simplify the cooking process by roasting. Roasting makes the peel very soft so that you can easily remove it with your fingers.
Instructions
1. Set the roasted fava beans out for about two hours so that they cool to room temperature. Do not cover the pan, as this causes sweating.
2. Shell the fava pods by simply pushing them open fingers. They should yield readily to pressure once roasted. Place the beans in a bowl and discard the pods.
3. Slip the thickened outer layer of the fava bean off to remove the bean's individual peeling, and discard the peel. This part of the bean should come off easily once cooked. Reserve the steam-roasted beans for cooking.
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