About This Blog

This is, as the title indicates, my kitchen notebook (the header is actually a scanned image of the cover of a notebook that I started using about 25 years ago and the background is a stained page from that book). I am not a professional recipe writer. If you try any recipe here, please keep that in mind, these recipes have not been tested by an independent tester. The "recipes" are often not even really recipes but rather a list of ingredients that I've noted after preparing a dish on the fly that I thought came out well. Perhaps I've also added some instructions, but I rarely keep accurate track of what I've done in terms of time or temperature, I've just noted to the best of my memory (feeble) what I did.

Please feel free to take some inspiration from here, but on the other hand, please give credit where it is due. I also welcome any constructive comments that you might have if you are inspired to try a recipe. Questions are welcome, but keep in mind that I may not remember specifics. The dishes do evolve over time...

Thank you and enjoy!

Fresh Fava Bean Dip

This is one of my husband's favorite dishes featuring fava beans and always the first one that he requests when the fava harvest starts. It also works well with frozen peeled favas.

About 1 1/2 cups peeled fresh fava beans
1 or 2 cloves peeled garlic or 1 stalk green garlic
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Blanch the beans for 2 or 3 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. In a food processor, first chop the garlic if using it; then add the fava beans, lemon juice, salt, and cumin to the work bowl. Process until smooth, scrape down the sides and then add the olive oil while processing until the mixture is very smooth. Add some of the cooking liquid if desired, the mixture will thicken a bit as it cools. Serve with pita, toast, raw vegetables, or crackers. It's also good scooped with crisp heart of romaine leaves. Some tangy feta is also good with the spread.

For version with more texture, puree half the favas with the rest of the ingredients until very smooth, then add the remaining favas and puree until it reaches a desired consistency.

Makes about 2 cups.

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