Fava beans have been all over the FM for the past couple of weeks and I finally broke down and bought some today. The last time I cooked favas the recipe was a total disaster; I think I neglected to take the skins off the beans or something and for a while every time I mentioned fava beans my husband would shudder and make the disgusted noise he usually reserves for quinoa.
Have I mentioned that fava beans are a total pain in the ass? First you have to shell them, then you boil them for two minutes, then give them an ice-water bath until they cool, then you pop them out of their skins. You go from having a giant bagful of beans and thinking, "What will I do with all these fava beans!" to having half a cup of them after almost an hour of work. To make all the prep less boring sometimes I pretend I'm a farm wife, shelling beans on the frontier or whatever.
A couple of weekends ago Neela and I had lunch at Joan's on Third, where I saw a beautiful fava bean and fresh mozzarella salad in the deli case. I really wanted to try it, but our cheese plate and flatbreads cost $30 so I decided to skip it. I should have sampled it when I had the chance, but instead I just worked off of what it looked like to make a little spring salad for tonight. I bought heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella at the FM today. The basil and parsley came from my garden. This is less a recipe and more a list of what I used.
1 medium yellow tomato
4 small tomatoes (they looked like Romas, but were the color of brandywines. Ideas anyone?)
About half a cup of boiled and shelled fava beans
1 lb fresh mozzarella, small balls
A few sprigs of parsley
A few basil leaves
Olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper
Chop the tomatoes, removing seeds and pulp. Chop the herbs. Put everything in a bowl, dress, season, mix and chill.
Sean loved this salad. He asked what the beans were and when I told him he said, "Wow, I do like fava beans!" Win. Kieran liked the favas but not the tomatoes. Partial win.
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