Fava beans are one of my favorite summer beans that we include in our garden. I have fond memories of growing up eating them as a staple at my Italian relatives’ dinner table. Favas sautéed in olive oil and garlic with swiss chard was Uncle Frank’s specialty. He would take me out to his garden and proudly show me where the favas and swiss chard were growing each summer.
This year it seems like the favas took forever to grow. The stalks of the plants grew taller than I remembered and the buds of the flowers weren’t turning into bean pods. And then, suddenly overnight, they appeared. I’m convinced that Uncle Frank must have sent down some garden love from heaven to make this happen.
I just couldn’t wait to shell these babies and get them into a pan of hot water to cook. I was impatient today and did not do the second shelling of the beans. What do I mean by the second shelling? Well, as you may or may not know, favas can be eaten two ways, right out of the bean pod or shelled out the casing after being par-boiled. A bright green bean appears and is melt-in-your-mouth tasty.
Check out this post that explains the fava bean more thoroughly. Worth the read if you are unfamiliar with this bean. FAVA.
Today was a “lazy” summer day, and the fava were consumed without the second shelling.
Garden pickings of broccoli, favas, shelled sugar snap peas, garlic, and scallions were the main ingredients for this vegetable dish.
Added tomatoes and orzo rice to complete the dish and then sprinkled grated parmesan. Oh yeah!
There really is no recipe per se for this vegetable dish. I was so anxious to taste the fava beans I just started throwing ingredients into the pan to sauté. Here’s an approximation of what I used for the dish.
As a meal, serves two. As a side-dish, serves four.
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup fava beans, shelled and parboiled
- 1/2 cup sugar snap peas, shelled - use more mature pea pods
- 1 cup broccoli flowerettes and stems, chopped
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1 cup orzo, cooked (or substitute rice of your choice)
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2-3 scallions, finely chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons Parmesan Reggiano
- Olive oil for sautéing
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Shell and parboil the fava beans until tender.
- Cook orzo according to package directions. (About 1/2 cup orzo yields 1 cup cooked.) I usually cook mine in chicken stock to bump up the flavor. Once cooked, set aside.
- Swirl olive oil in a fry pan and add onions, garlic, favas, peas, and broccoli. Cook until crisp/tender.
- Mix green vegetables with chopped tomato, and cooked orzo.
- Salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with parmesan.
Nutrition
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