Evolution of a Pod

Some of the best things in life are fleeting. Fava beans, like cherries, are one of the joys of early summer. About a month ago, I got so excited when my cooking magazines and the newspaper's food section started hyping up favas. Alas, they did not make an appearance at the farmer's market until this past week and will soon disappear again until next July. With a "get them while they're hot mindset," I picked up four pounds of the broad pods. Visions of the bright green beans lacing a creamy risotto dancing through my head.

If you've never cooked with these beans, they are a bit, ok a lot bit, fussy. Similar to shelling peas yet so different that Chad actually thanked me for not asking him to deal with extraction. So how does one get to the good thing inside?

1. Set a large pot of salted water on to boil
2. Shell a mess of beans. Four pounds yields about 2-2.5 cups of beans.
3. Boil the beans for two minutes and drain. Rinse with cold water. The beans are still inedible at this point.....
4. When the beans are cool enough to handle, extract them from the tough light green skin.

You will be rewarded with a sweet, nutty orb that is perfect pureed with mint for a bruschetta topping, added to a salad, or as we enjoyed it, in a risotto.