I was so excited to see fava beans at Central Market yesterday that I just had to pick some up. On the outside, they look like giant string beans. But it’s what’s inside that counts.
I picked them up without really knowing what I was going to do with them, but I figured I could easily put together a simple salad or dish with the ingredients I had around the house.
I decided to blanch them, add some olive oil & sea salt and then mix them with freshly grated pecorino. Fava & pecorino is a classic Italian preparation, and it was the perfect dish to accompany my sauteed scallops last night.
Fava Bean & Pecorino Salad
4 lbs. fava beans
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
2 oz. fresh pecorino cheese, grated
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
2 oz. fresh pecorino cheese, grated
Shell, blanch, and re-shell fava beans. ( You can find directions on how to do this here.) You should end up with about 2 cups of fava beans. In a medium bowl, toss fava beans with oil then sprinkle with salt to taste and top with cheese. Serve at room temperature.
