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Small Plates & Salads · Recipe No. 337

Fava Bean Salad with a Spanish Twist

Fava beans are healthy, full of vitamins and minerals, but a fava bean salad is also delicious. Especially when it's made with tasty ham.

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Fava bean salad with a Spanish twist
Recipe

Fava Bean Salad with a Spanish Twist

Servings
4 servings
Time
15 minutes
Ingredients for
4 servings

The instructions use metric amounts.

Ingredients

In ancient Rome, fava bean dishes were meant mainly for the poor. They were supposed to help get rid of evil forces. Today, for many people, they're a delicacy.

Unlike other kinds of beans, fava beans are not eaten whole. You need to peel off the tough outer skin. The best ones are young fava beans, harvested from mid-May to the end of August, when they're in season. Young beans are much more tender and tastier.

Fava bean salad with a Spanish twist

So what's so special about fava beans? I'll quote Gabrysia:

"Fava beans contain quite a lot of protein and carbohydrates, and plenty of fiber. In fava beans we'll find potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. As for vitamins, they have vitamin A, E, B vitamins, especially a lot of niacin (as much as 3.2 mg per 100 grams), and vitamin C.
Fava beans, like other legumes, contain saponins, which together with dietary fiber help lower cholesterol levels. They also lower blood sugar levels, which is why they're often recommended for people with diabetes."

I remember that as a child, or even as an older kid, I resisted fava beans as hard as I could. Even the smell put me off, and I ran away from them as far as I could. Luckily, I grew up, and curiosity "pushed" me toward fava beans. I'm glad, because I liked them, although they probably won't be on my table every day :)

I'm probably not reinventing the wheel with this recipe, but maybe there are other fava bean novices out there like me. Besides, fava beans prepared this way taste a little less like fava beans, which in my case was a good solution. Honestly, it's even hard for me to admit that I made this dish from a recipe, but oh well :) This time I was inspired by G. Ramsay's World Kitchen.

For this salad I used Iberian ham, made from raw, dried meat. But it will also taste very good with chorizo or smoked bacon.

Directions:

Peel the fava beans. Bring salted water to a boil in a pot, add the beans, and blanch for about 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely. Cut the ham into small cubes.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and lightly sauté the onion with the garlic, but be careful not to let them brown. Add the ham and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Finally, add the drained fava beans, cook for another 3 minutes, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Enjoy!

Additional information:

Fava beans prepared this way can be served as tapas with a piece of fresh baguette, or as a side dish, for example with meat.