Spring
Spring is here!
Isn't it?
The weather is still wonky, but the bounty of spring is upon us. The bounty of spring, in my case, means I have 5 lbs of fava beans in my fridge. Fava beans are new to my culinary repertoire, so I've been scouring the internet and my cookbooks for recipes.
I found a great recipe for Spring Vegetable Ragout on SF Gate. It calls for green shallots, which I happened to get this week in my veggie box. I rearranged the ingredients a little to accommodate some things I had on hand. I subbed radishes for the turnips that were called for in the original recipe. What I didn't have on hand I picked up at Rainbow Grocery.
I love how fresh, new, and colorful all the vegetables look.
When working with fava beans, you will need to shell them as you would any shelling bean. After that, you can choose to remove the whitish "jacket" around the actual bean or leave it on and eat it. To remove it, simply blanch the beans for one minute. Prick the outer shell with the tip of a paring knife and gently squeeze the bean out of the "jacket" downward into a bowl. (Be warned: if you squeeze too hard or if you squeeze them upward they will come shooting out all over your kitchen. I found one on my backsplash tile sometime after I had peeled them.)
I was worried that a spring vegetable stew would not be enough for Rob. But indeed it was. So you certainly can serve this as an entree without any worries. It would also be lovely as a side dish with salmon or lamb.
Spring Vegetable Ragout
--adapted from SF Gate
4 generous entree portions or 6-8 side dish portions
4 TBS unsalted butter
1 lb fingerling or new potatoes, cut in half (small) or quartered (larger)
1 bunch (roughly 20) fingerling carrots, topped but not peeled OR 8-10 regular carrots peeled and quartered
4 radishes, halved OR 2-4 young turnips, halved
6 green shallots OR 8 scallions, washed and cut to 2-inch lengths (including green tops)
salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 lb. fresh peas, shelled
1 lb fava beans, shelled (with jackets off, if desired)
1 lb asparagus, trimmed cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley
Melt 3 TBS of the butter over medium heat and add potatoes and carrots. Stir to coat the veggies in butter. Turn the heat to medium low, cover and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the radishes, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add shallots. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes. At the end of this time the vegetables should be nearly tender.
Uncover the pan and turn the heat up to medium. Add white wine and scrape up any brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Let the wine bubble up for 1 minute or so. Add shelled peas, fava beans, asparagus, and half the chopped fresh herbs. Reduce the heat back to medium-low. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Add remaining butter if you think you need it. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Top with remaining fresh herbs and serve.
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