fava beans

fava beans and peas / fave e piselli

| Simona

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fava beans & peas dish
green on green with a touch of orange
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the historical novel The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson. I borrowed the book by accepting a suggestion within the Libby app. I was intrigued by the long title and wanted to know what it was about. I soon found myself drawn to the story, which is set in the UK in the summer of 1919, post-WWI, during the Spanish flu pandemic. It is a challenging time for veterans re-entering civilian life, for women forced to abandon the jobs many held during the war and for the country overall.

The protagonist, Constance Haverhill, has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. There, she meets a kind refugee waiter, a group of women motorcyclists and a (physically and emotionally) wounded veteran. The elderly woman Constance is tasked to take care of turns out to be a more interesting character than expected.

I enjoyed Simonson’s style and treatment of characters so much that after finishing the novel, I borrowed her earlier ones: “The Summer Before the War” (where again the war in question is WWI) and “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand,” probably her most famous book.

While the Hazelbourne novel is not food-oriented, it includes a number of references to foods. I was inspired by “tiny spring peas” included in a restaurant meal in chapter 2:

There were celery stalks on a long glass dish served with small silver tongs. There were dishes of small green olives, and a plate of the ubiquitous tinned sardines rolled around tiny white onions and stuck through with a cocktail pick. A broth followed, slightly cloudy. Then an indeterminate course of oeufs mayonnaise. Finally, the main course: Mrs. Wirrall had ordered Dover sole for the ladies and the pie for Harris. She had commanded, and was delivered, buttered new potatoes, a dish of tiny spring peas, and a carrot mash. There was even a small wedge of lemon in a muslin cloth, which the waiter squeezed over their fish with a silver tool.

“I haven’t seen a lemon since before the war,” said Constance. There were one or two frowns from ladies at neighboring tables, which indicated that not all patrons had been honored with such an intoxicating spritz.

As we move towards late spring, the farmers’ market is filling with colorful fruit (hello cherries!) and a wider variety of vegetables, including fava beans and peas, both favorite of mine, fresh spring onion (cipollotto) and garlic (aglio — hurrah for no more storage allium!).

fava beans, peas, onion
green on green with a touch of orange
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

I decided to add a carrot (carota) to the green on green motif and was happy with the result. The small size of the dish reflects the fact that I made it for myself only: you can easily multiply the recipe. Both peas and fava beans require shelling. The latter are much tastier if you remove also the skin (trust me on this).

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Fava beans and peas

Ingredients:

  • 3 ounces / 85 grams shelled fresh fava beans
  • 1 ounce / 30 grams shelled fresh peas
  • 1 1/2 ounces / 42 grams red spring onion
  • 1 ounce / 30 grams carrot (1 medium or 2 small)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon Harissa spice mix
  • 2 tablespoons / 30 ml warm water
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 tablespoon finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Shell the fava beans and weigh the necessary amount. Blanch the fava beans for 30 seconds, then drain them and plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking.

Slit the skin with your thumbnail then pinch or twist to slip the bright green core out of its coat and into a small bowl. (You don’t need to peel tiny fava beans, whose skin is quite thin.) Set aside.

Shell the peas, weigh the necessary amount and set aside.

Finely chop the spring onion.

Scrub the carrot well and scrape the surface to remove a thin layer of skin, then grate it using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.

Peel and mince the garlic clove.

Heat up an 8-inch/20-cm cast-iron skillet, then add the olive oil. When hot, then add the onion and stir well to coat. Sprinkle the Harissa spice mix and stir. Cook on medium-low heat for 2 minutes, stirring a few times.

Add the grated carrot and stir. Cover and cook on low until the onion is soft, 6 minutes or so, stirring often.

Add the garlic, stir and let cook for one minute.

Add the peas and warm water, cover and cook for 4 minutes.

Add the fava beans and stir. Cover and cook until the peas are tender, 2 minutes or so.

Sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Remove from the heat, sprinkle the parsley, stir and serve.

Serves 1

I like to serve half the amount the recipe makes with an egg sunny-side up on top and a side of mixed vegetables with thyme2

1 The book’s page on the publisher’s website
2 From briciole’s archive: Mixed vegetables with thyme

Click on the Play button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

Cook the Books logoThis is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Copyright © 2007 – 2026 Simona Carini. All rights reserved.

onion and fava bean soup / zuppa di cipolle e fave

| Simona

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[versione in italiano]

onion and fava bean soup / IMG_5143

simplicity at its best

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the novel Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus1 which tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, a research chemist in California in the early 1960's, who becomes the host of a cooking show.

Rowing plays a role in the book, referred to mostly as a a source of physical discomfort, if not downright suffering. I thought I would balance out that perspective with a photo I took recently while rowing on Richardson Bay (an arm of San Francisco Bay). I captioned it: for this is why I row.



Based on the length of the library's waiting list, the book is popular. A light reading.

Besides dishes prepared during the show, there are others mentioned in the book: none sparked my imagination. On the other hand, this is the time of year when fresh fava beans are available and I enjoy bringing them into my kitchen. Most often I use them as an ingredient in salads2, but a recipe for a soup in La Cucina, the Regional Cooking of Italy by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina3 caught my attention, as it uses another seasonal ingredient I enjoy: spring onions. After months of using storage onions, fresh, juicy spring ones are a pleasure to savor.

I cannot imagine Elizabeth Zott choosing this soup for a Supper at Six installment, though had she done so, she could have explained to her audience about favism4 (favismo) a severe reaction to consumption of fava beans that occurs in people affected by deficiency of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), and could have expanded on the role enzymes play in chemical reactions. Once diagnosed, people affected by the genetic condition avoid ingesting fava beans.

ingredients for fava bean and onion soup / IMG_5133

two main ingredients plus a non-traditional one (for an Italian dish)
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

 My rendition of this simple soup includes an ingredient I recently purchased from a local farmer5: a miso made with green lentils (lenticchie verdi) and aged for a bit more than three years. I have been adding it to various dishes and even to cookies. 

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Onion and fava bean soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound / 450 grams fresh fava beans
  • 1/2 pound / 8 ounces / 225 grams red spring onion
  • 2 tablespoons /  30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups / 355 ml water, or as needed
  • 3/4 tablespoon miso (see note below)
  • finely chopped chives for garnish, optional

Note: the miso6 I use is aged 3+ years, like red miso, but it is made using green lentils rather than soybeans. It has a relatively mellow flavor. I suggest using yellow miso first. Depending on your preference, you may then mix it with some red miso for a stronger flavor (or with white miso for a lighter one).

Shell the fava beans and blanch them for 30 seconds, then drain them and plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking.

Slit the skin with your thumbnail then pinch or twist to slip the bright green core out of its coat and into a small bowl. (You don't need to peel tiny fava beans, whose skin is quite thin.) Set aside.

Chop the spring onion.

Heat up the olive oil in a saucepan, then add the onion and stir well to coat. Cook on low heat until the onion is soft, 6 minutes or so, stirring often.

Add the fava beans to the saucepan and stir well. Pour the water into the saucepan: the vegetables should be submerged, but visible just below the surface. (Add more water if necessary.) Cover the saucepan and bring the soup to a boil.

Cook the soup on low heat until the fava beans are soft, 25-30 minutes or as needed. Stir every now and then with a wooden spoon and mash some of the fava beans against the side of the saucepan.

Put the miso in a small cup. When the soup is almost ready, spoon some of the liquid into the cup and stir to blend. Pour the diluted miso into the soup and stir well.

Remove the soup from the heat. Serve hot, with some chives sprinkled on top, if desired.

Serves 2-3.

I love this soup: the spring onion gives it a fresh flavor, the fava beans make it earthy, miso adds umami and the result is satisfying,

1 The book's page on the author's website
2 From briciole's archive: Strawberry, fava bean, fennel and radish salad
3 The cookbook's page on the publisher's website
4 Favism
5 Palmer Creek Farm
6 Types of miso and their characteristics

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

zuppa di cipolle e fave

or launch the zuppa di cipolle e fave [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

CtBThis is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Debra of Eliot's Eats. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

soup, onion, fava beans, miso, Italian cuisine

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Newrule

zuppa di cipolle e fave

onion and fava bean soup / IMG_5143

zuppa semplice e ottima

Arrivati alla lettera F del nostro viaggio nel mondo degli ingredienti ho deciso subito che avrei preparato un piatto con le fave, che in questo momento sono di stagione. Mio padre le adorava e a tutti in famiglia piacevano crude, mangiate a fine pasto, semplicemente sbucciate e con un pochino di sale o, meglio ancora, del pecorino fresco.

Mia madre preparava anche la zuppa di fave: a me non piaceva per via delle bucce. In tutti i piatti che preparo con le fave il primo passo è quello di liberarle dalla loro buccia, previo breve sbollentamento. 

ingredients for fava bean and onion soup / IMG_5133

i due ingredienti + uno non tradizionale (per un piatto italiano)
(tovaglietta de La FABBRICA del LINO)

Ho trovato questa zuppa sul sito dell'Accademia Italiana della Cucina1 che la colloca in Campania come regiode d'origine. La ricetta è brevissima e io l'ho personalizzata con l'utilizzo di un ingrediente non tradizionale, il miso, che in questo periodo sto usando molto perché ho trovato un produttore locale che mi ha ispirato.

Una nota riguardo al favismo: è una reazione all'ingestione di fave che può colpire persone affette da carenza dell'enzima glucosio-6-fosfato deidrogenasi (G6PD). Una volta diagnosticata la carenza enzimatica (che ha base genetica), queste persone evitano le fave.

Ingredienti:

  • 450 grammi di fave fresche
  • 225 grammi di cipolla novella rossa (cipollotto rosso)
  • 2 cucchiai / 30 ml di olio extra-vergine di oliva
  • 355 ml di acqua, o q.b.
  • 3/4 cucchiaio di miso (vedi nota in basso)
  • erba cipollina tritata, facoltativa

Nota: il miso che utilizzo è maturato per oltre 3 anni, come il miso rosso, ma è fatto con lenticchie verdi invece che fagioli di soia. Non ha un sapore forte. Vi suggerisco di provare prima ad utlizzare il miso giallo. Se preferite un sapore più intenso, potete usare un mix di miso giallo e rosso. In generale, più il miso è scuro, più lungo è stato il periodo di fermentazione, più intenso è il sapore. Se non trovate il miso o non desiderate usarlo, potete fare lo stesso la zuppa e condirla con del sale fino.

Sgranate le fave e sbollentatele per 30 secondi, poi scolatele e tuffatele in acqua ghiacciata. Spellate le fave (a parte quelle proprio piccole, dalla pellicina fine) e mettetele da parte.

Tagliate finemente la cipolla.

In una pentola scaldate l'olio di oliva, aggiungete la cipolla e mescolate bene. Cuocere a fuoco dolce fino a quando la cipolla è tenera, circa 6 minuti, mescolando spesso.

Aggiungete le fave e mescolate bene. Versate l'acqua nella pentola: le verdure devono essere appena sommerse. (Aggiungete acqua se necessario.) Incoperchiate la pentola e portate ad ebollizione la zuppa.

Cuocete la zuppa a fuoco basso per 25-30 minuti o fino a quando le fave siano tenere. Mescolate la zuppa di tanto in tanto con un cucchiaio di legno e schiacciate alcune fave contro la parete della pentola.

Mettete il miso in una tazzina. Quando la zuppa è quasi pronta versare un po' del liquido nella tazzina e mescolate bene. Versate il miso diluito nella zuppa e mescolate bene.

Togliete la pentola dal fuoco. Servite la zuppa ben calda con, se volete, dell'erba cipollina tritata sparsa sulla superficie.

Porzioni: 2-3.

Questa zuppa mi piace molto: la cipolla novella le dà un sapore fresco, le fave un sapore rustico, il miso contribuisce umami e il risultato è ottimo.

1 Ricetta sul sito dell'Accademia italiana della cucina

UnMondoIngredientiLogo LetteraFContribuisco la mia zuppa di cipolle e fave dall'Italia alla lettera F di Un mondo d'ingredienti evento creato dall'instancabile Aiu' di Trattoria Muvara

 

FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto gli articoli di lino gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarli sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.

recipe: onion and fava bean soup

| Simona

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strawberry, fava bean, fennel and radish salad / insalata di fragole, fave, finocchio e ravanello

| Simona

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IMG_4362

Farm-fresh iceberg lettuce inspired this serving option
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the memoir Taste by actor Stanley Tucci1. The book included a couple of interesting sections, one pertaining the history of the highly enjoyable movie Big Night (1996),2 in which Tucci played the younger brother, Secondo. I didn't know that he had written the screenplay. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.

The other section I enjoyed was where Felicity (now Tucci's wife) prepared roasted potatoes in a way that first surprised then alarmed the author, but that in the end won the family's approval. Although the last part of the book focuses on the cancer diagnosis Tucci received, the intense treatment he underwent and his recovery, overall the book is pretty light. I wish—and this is on the publisher, not the author—that it had been proofread by an Italian.

Reading the book in the run-up to the 16th anniversary of my little blog, made me think of all the recipes I have created for it. I decided to select a recipe from the early years and update it based on my current eating habits. The recipe I chose comes from a July 2008 post3 and features seasonal ingredients quite representative of Italian cuisine. The salad also happens to include the colors of the Italian flag (called tricolore): white, red and green (bianco, rosso e verde).

fava beans, fennel, strawberries / IMG_4360

before the salad there are pretty ingredients
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

When I first moved to California, 28 years ago, it was hard to find fava beans and fennel, two foods that had been part of my life since childhood. In time, the situation changed and now I can easily purchase them where I live, when in season.

Fava beans make me think of my father, who loved them eaten fresh from the pods, with just a bit of salt. Fennel reminds me of my godfather, who ate some at the end of every meal (wiped clean with a cloth, not washed, an instruction I follow).

Even after so many years in California, our long strawberry season still thrills me. As a child, the weeks during which strawberries were available always seemed to pass too quickly. Now I know that I have time to enjoy a favorite fruit for several months.

IMG_4361

Ready for bright colors: the view from above
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

For this update, I added a radish to the ingredients, a small peppery note to balance the sweetness of berries. (I had the idea after taking the photo above, so the radish is absent from it). Finally, a beautiful head of iceberg lettuce (lattuga iceberg) inspired me to make small boats for serving. To eat, close the leaf into a wrapper and enjoy the combination.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Strawberry, fava bean, fennel and radish salad

Ingredients :

  • 7 ounces / 200 grams strawberries, possibly organic
  • 1 teaspoon / 5 ml balsamic vinegar
  • 1 pound / 450 grams fresh fava beans
  • 1 small fennel bulb
  • 1 radish
  • 2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon / 15 ml balsamic vinegar
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
  • A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon stone-ground mustard
  • 4-5 leaves of fresh basil, chiffonade
  • 1 teaspoon minced fennel frond

Wash, hull and slice the strawberries, then season them with the balsamic vinegar. Toss and set aside to marinate.

Shell the fava beans and blanch them for 30 seconds, then drain them and plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking. Slit the skin with your thumbnail then pinch or twist to slip the bright green core out of its coat and into a small bowl. Set aside.

Trim and clean the fennel bulb, leaving an inch or so of the green stalk to hold it when slicing. Quarter, cut off the core, and slice thinly using a mandoline. Set aside.

Grate the radish using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.  

Bring the ingredients together in a serving bowl.

Pour the olive oil and balsamic vinegar into a small glass jar. Add sat, pepper and mustard. Put the lid on and shake vigorously. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables and toss.Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed.

Sprinkle basil and fennel frond.

Toss again and serve as a side dish (contorno) or appetizer (antipasto). Alternatively, spoon some salad on iceberg lettuce leaves and serve.

Serves 3 (4 if served on iceberg lettuce).

For future reference (i.e., when it will be my turn to host Cook the Books. Tucci describes a meal he shared with legendary Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni4:

After dinner Marcello ordered a digestivo. This consisted of a half a shot of amaro and a half a shot of Fernet-Branca.

1 The book's page on the publisher's website
2 Big Night
3 From briciole's archive: Strawberry, fava bean and fennel salad
4 My favorite image of Mastroianni, by Diane Arbus

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

insalata di fragole, fave, finocchio e ravanello

or launch the insalata di fragole, fave, finocchio e ravanello audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

CtBThis is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

strawberry, fava bean, fennel, radish, salad

recipe: strawberry, fava bean, fennel and radish salad

| Simona

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artichokes, fava beans and sausage / carciofi, fave e salsiccia

| Simona
artichokes, fava beans and sausage / IMG_1894

satisfying spring flavors (sapori di primavera)
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO, cheeseboard by BHVwoodworks)

Reading Buttermilk Graffiti1 by Edward Lee, the current selection of the Cook the Books club, was a pleasure from the first to the last page. Lee is a great storyteller: he brings the readers with him in his travels, inside every eating establishment he visits, next to every person he talks to. Together with the more factual details of his 16 stories, each centered around a place with specific food traditions, he shares doses of personal opinions, memories, experiences.

Each chapter of the book ends with a few recipes and some of them now are on my to-try list. Yet, as I was reading the book I knew I would make something that would represent my own move: from Italy to California, from a defined set of traditions tied to local food products, to a place where foods I had until taken for granted were not available or quite different, while foods unknown to me were waiting for me to discover them and incorporate them into my diet.

baby artichokes / IMG_1894

freshly harvested baby artichokes from Shakefork Community Farm

Last month I was in Italy: artichoke season was in full swing and fava beans were also in every grocery store. The artichokes I purchased in Perugia, my hometown, were purple (viola), unlike the ones I find in California. I am happy I can buy artichokes in both places, happy too that in my adoptive country I can purchase them directly from the farmers who grow them. Similarly fava beans, which were my father's favorite spring vegetable, were hard to find when I first moved to California, then they became available at the farmers' markets where I shop and now they are plentiful.

fava beans / IMG_1894

fava beans courtesy of Happy Boy Farms

One day during my visit, I was talking with my sister-in-law and she mentioned a dish of artichokes, fava beans and shelling peas (carciofi, fave e piselli). It is a spring vegetable combination with various names around Italy (e.g., vignarola). I brought the idea back with me to Northern California.

Shelling pea season being still early when I returned, I focused on artichokes and fava beans and added sausage meat to make a complete dish that can be eaten as is, used to dress some pasta, or topped with an egg (my favorite variation). Pork meat (carne di maiale), fresh or cured, is a staple in central Italy, where I grew up. Meeting Northern California farmers who raise pigs properly and artisans who prepare their meat with care has prompted me to try different types of sausages, some closer to those available in my home country (mild or hot Italian), others quite different (leek and white wine, or blueberry).

Like dishes Lee describes in his book, this recipe tells the story of an Italian dish transported by an immigrant to her adoptive country and prepared there with local ingredients, for which she is grateful. It is a pleasure to eat, which, in this case, is the most important thing.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Artichokes, fava beans and sausage

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound / 450 g fresh fava beans in their pods
  • 8 ounces / 225 g (2-3) small artichokes, possibly organic
  • 1 teaspoon / 5 ml fresh lemon juice
  • 2 ounces / 55 g sausage meat (like mild Italian)
  • 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil, divided 
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and halved (hopefully from the new crop)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
  • A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Shell the fava beans and blanch them for one minute, drain them and plunge them into a bowl of ice cold water. Drain them again, then remove the skin from the beans to bring their bright green core to light. Set aside.

Prepare a bowl with about 4 cups / 1 liter of water and the lemon juice.

For each artichoke: Detach and discard 3 rows of leaves, until you see the light green heart at the base. Cut off the stem and peel it to reveal the light green center and cut that into pieces. Toss them into the lemony water.

With a paring knife, peel away a thin ribbon around the base where the 3 rows of leaves attached. Cut off the top 1/2 inch / 1.25 cm of the artichoke and discard that top portion. Place the artichoke cut top down and slice off 1/2 inch / 1.25 cm all around at an angle (i.e., slice off the top portion of the external 2-3 layers of leaves).

Quarter the artichoke, carve out the hairy center (choke), if any (small artichokes may not yet have it) then quickly cut each quarter into thin slices (no thicker than 1/4-inch / 6-mm) and immediately toss them into the lemony water.

Warm up 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet, add the sausage meat broken into small pieces and cook on gentle heat for a couple of minutes. Move it to a small bowl, leaving behind the rendered fat.

Add the rest of the olive oil to the skillet, warm it up, add the garlic and stir. After a minute, drain the artichokes, add them to the skillet and stir well. Arrange the artichokes into a single layer, cover and cook on gentle heat for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then. If needed, add a bit of water, to prevent artichokes from sticking to the pan.

Add the fava beans, stir well, cover again and cook on gentle heat for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then.

Transfer the sausage meat into the skillet, stir well, cover again and cook on gentle heat until the artichokes are tender, stirring every now and then, 5 minutes or so.

Sprinkle the sea salt, black pepper and fresh parsley on top, stir well and remove the skillet from the heat.

Serve immediately.

Serves 3-4 as appetizer.

IMG_1894

Italian-inspired recipe realized with California products
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO, cheeseboard by BHVwoodworks)

As I started reading the book, I realized I had met the author in person at the LongHouse Food Revival, September 2014. The day before the event, I rode in a car with him and Carlos Gaytan, chef of the restaurant Mexique in Chicago3 I remember Lee as soft-spoken and smiling, a memory that matches his persona in the book, someone who enters an eatery, restaurant or bar, sits quietly for a while, then strikes up a conversation with other patrons, someone who listens and elicits stories from the people he meets.

1 I purchased the cheese board from BHVwoodworks: I like what Brian does with wood
2 The book's website
3 See my post on mole poblano

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

carciofi, fave e salsiccia

or launch the carciofi, fave e salsiccia audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

CtBThis is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Debra of Eliot's Eats. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. 

artichokes, fava beans, sausage, appetizer, Italian food

recipe: artichokes, fava beans and sausage

| Simona

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recipe: fava bean and garlic scape spread (crema di fave e scapi florali d’aglio)

| Simona

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crema di fave e scapi florali d’aglio / fava bean and garlic scape spread

| Simona
fava bean and garlic scape spread

a creamy shade of green

For the current edition of Cook the Books, we are reading The United States of Arugula by David Kamp (2006). I don't think I can add much to the many reviews the book has received since its publication. It is undoubtedly an important book, very interesting and pleasant to read. Kamp's book paints a complete and complex picture that helps the reader understand how certain aspects of the food world in the US evolved to be the way they are now.

My perspective in reading the book is that of an outsider-insider: I am an Italian who moved to the San Francisco Bay Area (theater of a number of the developments narrated in the book) as an adult (18 years ago), with well-established food roots. I learned not only to cook but to enjoy doing so, and, as a result, I eat out only very rarely. Finally, I don't watch television. From this special perspective, the story told in the book is fascinating, and also puzzling. I am very much Italian in my approach to food and totally immune from the obsession with French cuisine depicted in the book. Such obsession puzzles me.

Kamp dedicates some thoughtful paragraphs to Italian cuisine. You can read an example here. This excerpt brought to my mind two things. First, the 1996 movie Big Night, which shows very nicely the tension between Italian regional cuisine and Americans' perception of it influenced by the Italian-American community. Then, an episode from my previous life. Before moving to the US, one summer, I worked at a Club Med resort in Morocco. The guests came from France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the UK. One evening, the dining room was divided into two sections: in one, guests would be served a French menu, in the other, an Italian menu. At dinner time, things did not quite go as expected: almost everybody wanted to go into one section — and it was not the one where French food would be served. As Marcella Hazan says in the passage referenced above with regards to Italian food, "it's food that you eat with pleasure… You don't have to analyze it, you just enjoy that it's so."

fava bean pod

The recipe that follows is connected to another page of the book, where Ms. Betty Fussell's comment on food hype is reported, within the context of an assessment of Alice Waters' contribution to the discussion on food ways. (You can read the page here.) These Fussell's words made me smile: "little tiny Italian fava-bean grower down the road." I am actually happy that nowadays I can find fresh fava beans at the farmers' market (and fava greens too), a food that is quite common in Italy and that I ate often as a kid.

garlic head and scapes

The other element of the recipe is garlic scapes. The scape is the elegant leafless "stem from which the seed head of the garlic bulb is formed" (source). Garlic scapes are a relatively recent entry in my kitchen: they have gained in popularity in recent years and are now easily found at farmers' market, appearing at the same time as fava beans, a coincidence that I interpreted as a suggestion.

Most recipes I have seen use scapes to make a variation of pesto, or as a side dish, roasted. My spread tastes of fresh fava beans, of aromatic garlic scapes and of pungent fiore sardo cheese. In this small dish, I bring together my Italian heritage and my experience with interesting ingredients I find in Californian farmers' markets. More than an exact recipe, this is an invitation to play with the main ingredients. It is also a variation on the classic Italian combination of fava beans and pecorino cheese.

Note: Savory has a flavor reminiscent of thyme, with mint and pepper tones. I have a bush of winter savory (santoreggia montana) in my herb garden, and I like to experiment with it. If you don't have it, try using one or two leaves of fresh mint (menta).

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Fava bean and garlic scape spread

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 lb. fresh fava beans in their pod (about 1 1/4 cup shelled)
  • 2 1/2-3 oz. [70-85 g] garlic scapes
  • 1 teaspoon fresh winter savory, optional (see note above)
  • 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 3 tablespoons freshly grated fiore sardo
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Fine sea salt, to taste

Shell fava beans and blanch them for one minute, drain them and plunge them into a bowl of cold water. Drain them again, then remove the skin from the beans to bring their bright green core to light. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Cut thinner portion of garlic scapes (above the bulge); if they've yellowed, discard. Spread all the scapes onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and sprinkle with olive oil and a bit of sea salt. Bake for 12 minutes, then remove the thinner pieces. Bake the rest for another 3-4 minutes. Let cool slightly, then coarsely chop scapes. (This seems complicated, but the top of the scapes ends up charred and I am trying to avoid that. If it still happens, snap off the charred portion and discard it before proceeding with the recipe.)

Put fava beans and scapes in the food processor and pulse to chop. Add herbs and process some more, then add the cheese and process briefly. While pulsing, dribble the oil into the feeding tube, then the lemon juice. Finally, sprinkle a bit of salt and process to a smooth paste by pulsing for several seconds at a time.

I have found that it is better to allow the ingredients to influence each other for a bit before changing the balance, so let the spread rest for 20 minutes or so, then taste and adjust seasoning (salt, lemon juice). Refrigerate until ready to use and take out of the refrigerator in advance, so that the spread in not cold when you serve it.

In the top photo, I am using a grissino as a vehicle for some of the spread.

CtBThis is my contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books, hosted by Jo of Food Junkie, Not Junk Food. You can find the guidelines for participating in the event here, and here is the announcement.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

MLLA47LogoI am also sending this to My Legume Love Affair 47, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, and hosted this month by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes. This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

crema di fave e scapi florali d'aglio

or launch the crema di fave e scapi florali d'aglio audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

fava bean, garlic scape

minestra di fave e piselli / fava bean and English pea soup

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

fava bean and pea soup

a flavorful soup

Fresh fava beans and English peas (a.k.a., garden peas) were among the purchases I made last Sunday, at the Temescal Farmers’ Market (Oakland, CA). By the time I had finished my shopping, I had already decided they would be married in a soup. I had to laugh aloud, considering how much I disliked both fava bean soup and pea soup, when my mother prepared them.

It wasn’t only that I did not like either legume, but that I also had to shell them, a task hardly enjoyable for a child or teenager. Now, I don’t mind doing it and since I don’t like the skin of fava beans (which was the reason why I did not like the soup made with them), I also remove that.

The soup I made was inspired by this Tuscan recipe for onion soup on the Accademia Italiana della Cucina site (in Italian). In my soup, the balance of ingredients is different, so the result is a spring legume soup where the flavor of the fresh legumes shines brightly.

Print-friendly version of briciole’s recipe for Fava bean and English pea soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 lb. [570 g] fresh fava beans
  • 1 lb. [450 g] fresh English peas
  • olive oil
  • 8 oz. [225 g] red onion (cipolla rossa), finely chopped
  • 2 scallions, sliced into thin rounds
  • 1 celery rib (costa di sedano), finely chopped
  • 1 carrot (carota), scrubbed and chopped
  • 1.5 cup [355 ml] homemade light chicken stock or vegetable option
  • 1 cup [240 ml] water
  • 4-5 basil leaves, slivered
  • sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
  • slices of rye bread (pane di segale), or of other bread of choice
  • freshly grated fiore sardo

Shell peas and fava beans. Blanch fava beans for one minute, drain them and plunge them into a bowl of cold water. Drain them again and then remove the skin from the beans to bring their bright green core to light. Set aside.

Warm olive oil in a soup pot and add onion and scallions. Stir to coat and let cook for a few minutes. Add carrot and celery, stir and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Add the broth and water, cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and gently cook for 20 minutes, until the onion is soft.

Add the peas and basil, and cook for 5 minutes, then add the fava beans. Cook until the legumes are tender to your liking. Taste after 5-7 minutes and evaluate how much more time is needed. Adjust salt and pepper. When the soup is almost ready, toast the bread and line the bottom of soup bowls. Pour hot soup over the bread and let sit for a minute, then sprinkle cheese on the soup and serve immediately.

This soup is totally worth the effort needed to prepare the legumes.

Whb3341This is my contribution to edition #334 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Brii of briggishome.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

minestra di fave e piselli

or launch the minestra di fave e piselli audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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soup, fava beans, English peas

Newrule

minestra di fave e piselli

minestra di fave e piselli

una minestra saporita

Al Temescal Farmers’ Market (Oakland, CA) domenica scorsa ho comprato fave e piselli freschi. Non mi ci è voluto molto per decidere che avrei fatto sposare i due legumi in una minestra. Mi è venuto da ridere, considerando quanto detestassi sia la minestra di fave che quella di piselli che preparava mia madre.

Il problema non era solo che non mi piacevano i due legumi, ma che toccava a me sgranarli, un compito non proprio divertente per una ragazzina. Adesso la cosa non mi dispiace affatto e dal momento che non mi piace la buccia delle fave (il motivo per cui non mi piaceva la minestra di fave), tolgo anche quella.

Per la minestra che ho preparato mi sono ispirata a una ricetta toscana per una minestra di cipolle che ho trovato sul sito dell’Accademia Italiana della Cucina. Nella mia minestra l’equilibrio degli ingredienti è diverso e il risultato è una minestra di legumi primaverile nella quale splende il sapore dei legumi freschi.

Ingredienti:

  • 570 g fave fresche
  • 450 g piselli freschi
  • olio d’oliva
  • 225 g cipolla rossa, tagliata a pezzetti
  • 2 cipolle verdi, tagliate e rondelle fini
  • 1 costa di sedano, tagliata a pezzetti
  • 1 carota, tagliata a pezzetti
  • 355 ml brodo di pollo leggero fatto in casa, o brodo vegetale
  • 240 ml acqua
  • 4-5 foglie di basilico
  • sale fino e pepe macinato fresco, q.b.
  • fettine di pane di segale o di altro pane a scelta
  • fiore sardo macinato fresco

Sgranare piselli e fave. Sbollentare le fave per un minuto, scolarle e versarle in acqua fredda. Scolarle di nuovo e sbucciarle.

Scaldare dell’olio d’oliva in una pentola e aggiungere i due tipi di cipolla. Mescolare e far cuocere alcuni minuti, poi aggiungere carota e sedano, mescolare e lasciare cuocere per 5-7  minuti. Versare il brodo e l’acqua nella pentola. Coprire, portare ad ebollizione e poi cuocere a fuoco dolce per 20 minuti, fino a quando la cipolla sia tenera.

Aggiungere i piselli e il basilico a pezzetti, e cuocere a fuoco dolce per 5 minuti, poi aggiungere le fave. Cuocere fino a quando i legumi siano teneri in accordo al vostro gusto. Assaggiare dopo 5-7 minuti e valutare quanto tempo sia ancora necessario. Condire con sale e pepe a seconda del gusto. Quando la minestra è quasi pronta, tostare il pane e disporlo sul fondo dei piatti da minestra. Versarci sopra la minestra bollente e lasciar riposare per un minuto, poi spargere del formaggio sulla superficie e servire immediatamente.

Questa minestra ripaga dello sforzo necessario per preparare i legumi.

Whb3341Questo post è il mio contributo all’edizione numero 334 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn’s Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, la cui versione italiana è organizzata da Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da A.B.C. di Fragoliva.

Questo post contiene la raccolta dell’evento.