Favas get a bad name. Ever since Anthony Hopkins uttered that line from Silence of the Lambs, it’s not hard to shutter and wish to not have any with chianti.
All of which is a shame because favas were my first vegetable of the year. The rules on this award are a bit sketchy, but I’m pretty certain that a vegetable can’t win twice. But if they could, favas would win again.
Today, I harvested a giant bowl of favas and there are still more in my front yard to harvest. I shelled them before picking Dan up at the airport, planning to do an asparaguas/fava/arugula + feta + ?quinoa mixup of some sort. Then, when I finally got to the grocery store, sans list, as I’m apt to do, I purchased a 6 pack of Clausthaler, 1 lemon, 2 limes, 1 pound of coffee, radishes, blueberries, 1/4 of a watermelon, and arugula. Hmmm…
What to do? No greek yogurt for my usual fava plan. No asparagus for my clever mixup plan.
Never fear, crisis averted by the beauty of blanched favas.
2 pounds favas, shelled, blanched x 2minutes, then ice bath and peel
1/2 cup diced feta
4 cups arugula
1/8 watermelon cubed or balled
Lemon vinagrette (Dan: 1/2 of a lemon juiced, olive oil, espelette (dash), bit (1t ish) of red wine vinegar, 2 t-ish dijon mustard, bit of brown sugar)
Salt/pepper to taste.
Toss above. Eat. Happy, green yum, yum.