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.

Fava Bean and Greens Crostini

1 ounce thin sliced pancetta cut in pieces
1 stalk of green garlic, minced
About 1 cup of shelled and peeled fava beans, coarsely chopped
a handful of tender young fava greens, coarsely chopped
a handful of arugula, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
aged pecorino cheese
extra virgin olive oil
sliced country style bread


Cook the pancetta with a bit of olive oil in a medium size saute pan over medium low heat until crisp. Remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of the fat from the pan. Add the minced garlic to the pan and saute until soft (about half a minute). Add the chopped fava beans to the pan and saute about another minute. They shouldn't need much more cooking other than the minute of blanching to remove the peels. Turn off the heat and add the chopped greens to the pan and stir until the greens have wilted. Stir in the reserved pancetta.

Brush the bread with a little olive oil and toast it. Arrange the toast on a platter or individual plates. Pile the beans and greens on the toast. Season to taste with coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper. Use a vegetable peeler to shave some of the pecorino over each portion. Gild the lily with a drizzle of your finest extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!

Fresh Fava and Ricotta Spread

1 1/2 cups shelled and peeled fresh fava beans
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped mint
4 ounces drained whole milk ricotta cheese

Cook the favas in simmering water to cover for about 5 minutes, or until tender, depending on how mature they are. Drain, chop in a food processor, then add the lemon juice, olive oil, cumin and salt. Process until smooth. Add the mint and ricotta and process to blend in. Taste for seasonings.

Variation: Reserve the cooking liquid from cooking the beans. Follow as above, thin the spread with some of the reserved cooking liquid to make a dip.

Makes about 2 cups of spread.