Fava Beans are the center attraction for me here. This splendiferous dish was created with them in mind. It’s a springtime Mediterranean garden on a plate. A probiotic rich layer of herbed Kefir and Yoghurt infused with Dill, Mint and Parsley topped with perfectly cooked green as green can be Fava Beans with Persian Cucumbers and Campari Tomatoes dressed simply in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Celtic Sea Salt. Finished with some more fresh herbs and a good drizzle of Olive Oil. Magic.
Fresh Fava Beans grace us for a few weeks in Spring before they’re gone! When we were little my mother would buy us bag fulls and we’d enjoy peeling back the long beans and eating them raw. I still love eating them this way and love using them in as many recipes as I can this time of year. Enjoy young Fava Beans raw, and save the larger more mature Favas for cooking. They’re delicious as is, on a good slice of toasted sourdough bread and good quality salted butter.
If you are in season for Fava Beans and can buy them fresh I’d suggest that, but if not, you can find frozen Fava Beans year round at most Middle Eastern supermarkets.
To cook fresh Fava Beans, start by removing the beans from their pods. Blanch the beans in salted boiling water for 2 minutes then transfer them to an ice bath to cool or run them under cold water. Once cool, peel off the tough outer skin to reveal the bright green bean inside.
For frozen Fava Beans, cook from frozen per package instructions, but do a minute less than the shortest time on the instructions. For example if it says boil for 5-7 minutes, boil for 4. You want the Beans to be tender not mushy. Add Salt to the water you boil them in.