![]() If you’re sowing fava beans in autumn to overwinter, pick a variety described as “hardy” or specifically suited to autumn sowing. Fava beans are also tolerant of clay and saline soils and, once established, drought. Fava bean flowering.Ĭhoose a sunny, sheltered spot for your beans in soil that is well-drained and fertile (fork in compost just over an inch deep). They also grow sweetly fragrant white flowers which are truly gorgeous and worth growing on their own many pollinators including bumblebees and native bees are attracted to the blooms. They are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, with exceptional levels of protein, and plenty of potassium that’ll help reduce blood pressure and good for your heart! They are a stiffly erect plant that grows 2 to 6 feet tall. A staple crop in many countries, and one of the first beans to have been cultivated (as far back as the Bronze Age), fava beans’ pods, beans, shoots, leaves, and flowers are edible. They are also grown as a cover crop, keeping the soil covered over winter, which will keep soil life happier they make efficient use of otherwise empty beds.įava beans require cool weather temperatures in the 60s (Fahrenheit) are ideal. They are a member of the vetch genus which is a widely cultivated annual legume grown for its nutritious seeds and pods. Though part of the pea and bean family Fabaceae, fava beans are not like common green beans, Phaseolus vulgaris. Discover this delicious, nutritious plump bean! If you can’t find merguez, substitute with sweet or spicy Italian sausage and use harissa paste instead of tomato paste.The fabulous fava bean (aka broad bean or faba) is a frost-hardy crop that can be sown in the early spring or planted in the fall and overwintered. Spanish Manchego cheese tops this simple pasta of Moroccan merguez sausage and fresh fava beans inspired by the western Mediterranean. Fresh Fava and Merguez Orecchiette With Manchego Whether you spread it on toast, dip into it with chips or simply eat it by the spoonful, it’s one of the simplest and tastiest ways to enjoy one of my favorite springtime treats. Obviously it’s not a real ceviche, but instead is treated like one, dressing the fava beans in a mélange of herbs, lime juice and fresh chiles studded with larger slices of early-spring radishes and segments of late-winter pomelo - it’s a fantastic dish for this season-straddling time of year.Īnd if you want something that is the easiest of all, treat the fava beans like hummus and make this Fava Bean Purée that blends the legumes with garlic, olive oil, lemon and toasted cumin. That same sweet-creamy texture that makes the fava beans a great swap for shrimp also makes them a great candidate for any seafood in my Fresh Fava “Ceviche” with Grapefruit and Chiles. ![]() Plenty of garlic and chile flakes bolster the heartiness of the fava beans while lots of lemon zest adds freshness and acidity to this simple pasta dish. ![]() The fava beans sort of mimic the shape of the orecchiette too, nestling neatly in the pasta’s curves as if they’re meant to be there.įor a quicker pasta, I love my Fava Bean Scampi, a vegetarian/vegan spin on the classic that swaps the meaty, sweet favas for shrimp. The verdant sweetness of the favas pairs wonderfully with the spiced merguez (you could use spicy Italian sausage as a substitute if you want) and creamy Manchego cheese. One of my favorite ways to incorporate fava beans is in my Fresh Fava and Merguez Orecchiette With Manchego, and, well, all the selling points are in the name. If you’ve bought fava beans in the market lately (tip: They’re everywhere right now), get all the shelling and skinning out of the way now, so you can enjoy some of these recipes that use them whenever the mood strikes. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
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