Fava what?

I’m about to admit something a little embarrassing…

The first time I saw these? I didn’t know what they were and I gave the whole beans to my kids to eat. Raw.

AND THEY ATE THEM! Without batting an eye. Pods and all!! So I didn’t think anything of it.

A while later I finally got around to reading the weekly CSA email and realized they were fava beans and I was supposed to shell them!! OOPS!

I’m pretty sure you CAN eat the pods, but I tried them myself later and they were not so good. So I was ready when I got them in the next week’s basket.

This time I shelled them and sautéed them with butter and salt…aaaand…

Much better!

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Next time I boiled them and added them to a wild rice and kale salad.

This salad was by, yes, you guessed it, Shalene Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky. Of course.

The recipe is posted all over the internet, so I don’t feel like it’s a big deal sharing it here with my tweaks.

Wild West Rice Salad

• 1 cup wild rice
• 1 batch of creamy apple cider vinaigrette (see below)
• 4-6 radishes, thinly shaved
• 3 cups kale (or any other greens)
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1 cup shelled fava beans, cooked

Creamy Apple Cider Vinaigrette

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard 
• 1/2 shallot, minced 
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Cook the rice and add it to a large salad bowl with the greens (it will help the greens wilt a bit). Toss with half of the dressing and let it cool.

Once it has come down to room temp, add the other veggies and the rest of the dressing. Toss and serve.

Kyle was out of town for this, but that’s just as well because the kids and I both had leftovers and finished it all off. 😛

Who knew fava beans were so good?

And because of our CSA we got them every week for ~8 weeks in a row! I never would have tried them (or even known what they were!) if I’d seen them at the store.