“I came to love my rows, my beans, though so many more than I wanted. They attached me to the earth, and so I got strength like Antæus. But why should I raise them? Only Heaven knows.” Henry David Thoreau
Macchismo Favas.
Hearty Fava beans. Grown for over 6,000 years, its peasant roots are now emerging as a new food trend. Each spring, Italians patiently wait for the grass-green pods to become elongated, filled with thumbnail sized beans. In Puglia last April, I noticed the variety of ways favas were incorporated into so many local dishes, especially when they are in season, which is right now.
Robust favas grown from seeds I purchased in Tuscany. They are producing heavily at the moment and are my garden showstopper. Anyone have an extra pair of hands to help shuck the pods?
In Italy, favas dot pastas, soak up spicy olive oil for a salad, are smashed on top of crostini and pureed for a coulis to cuddle fish or seafood. Their bright green brilliance is appetizing and their taste is even better.
Freshly unzipped and shucked favas. Next they are blanched for 30 seconds, then plunged into an ice bath. The work begins now. I remove the tough outer skin and discard it, revealing the gorgeous green tender morsel inside. 1 pound of whole fava beans equals about 1 cup of shelled beans.
The beans have a soft sweetness that almost melts in your mouth. I had heard of favas before but not attempted to prepare them because of the hype about how time-consuming they were. I assure you, they are well worth the sacrifice of time. You will be rewarded with a new taste, a gorgeous color addition to your recipes and a powerhouse of protein-rich nutrition.
A simple flavorful salad of sliced fresh fennel, favas, minced dill and lemon olive oil or lemon vinaigrette. Decorated with the nasturtiums that are taking over my garden! Refreshing!A bed of my garden greens, favas tossed with mint and a hint of olive oil, a few mozzarella balls then drizzled with fig balsamic vinegar. Bellissimo!
There are so many ways to incorporate these green beauties into your life, I just couldn’t make all the recipes I dreamed up! Some more of my ideas are: Garlic-infused fava purée under seafood kabobs, pasta with favas and artichokes, olive oil dressed favas and shaved pecorino cheese (an Italian favorite), favas smashed with a bit of olive oil (basil infused is delicious) and spread on crostini.
This just in: While shopping at Trader Joe’s last weekend, the demo featured pasta salad with fava beans, imported from Italy and in the frozen section! Fresh is always best so check your local farmer’s market first.
I’d love to hear from you fava lovers. How do you use them in your favorite dishes?
Contact me for tips on growing favas from seed. They require a mild climate because they are planted in October/November and harvested in late March to April. My story “Garden RX” has photos of the established plants and their height.
For more information on favas, check out this fabulous website:http://www.delallo.com/articles/fava-beans-green-protein
A tavola non si invecchia At the table with good friends and family you do not become old.
Laureen’s positive energy is contagious!
This last weekend, I enjoyed one of the finest stress-free parties I’ve ever thrown. What’s my secret? Read on for clues!
Recent trips to Italy have inspired me to excavate my pasta machine and crank it up. What better way to renew my acquaintance with this machine, than to invite other food lovers to share in the experience of making fresh, homemade pasta? The friends I made in Rome on a food tour were in San Diego for the weekend. Thus the inspiration for a pasta party with friends of all ages to gather, cook Italian and swap stories of Italy. I cranked up the Mambo Italiano tunes from Pandora and soon the spoons were stirring, hands were kneading and bodies were swaying to the beat of the music. Are we having fun? It was a blast!
Making spinach pasta – one of my favorites.Starting the kneading process.
Here’s our pasta featured lunch menu:
White lasagna layered with grilled veggies ala TV’s “The Chew”
Fettuccine with spicy Italian olive oil, fresh Pecorino cheese and black pepper
Spinach pasta ravioli filled with spinach, ricotta and Parmesan
Fresh greens from my garden
Homemade Ciabatta bread made by master baker Eva
Fresh strawberries with vanilla ice cream and my homemade limoncello
After a how-to demo of using your fingers to gradually incorporate the flour into the well of eggs and olive oil, I turned the mixing over to Laureen, the friend I met in Rome. The dough almost looks as if it is not going together but it’s important not to add more liquid at this point. Sometimes strong hands are needed to pull the dough into a cohesive mass. Laureen’s husband, Brent was our man.
Folding the pasta.
His strong hands swiftly kneaded the mixture into a beautiful soft and smooth dough which we let rest for 20 minutes. Even though I’ve made homemade pasta many times before, I did some research and thought Guiliano Bugialli’s method for rolling out the dough was worth a try. First, feed the dough through the machine on the widest setting. Then fold the dough into thirds like a book.
Notice how this pasta dough is much coarser than the multiple rolled pasta.A more refined pasta.
Feed it through the machine again on the widest setting and repeat folding and rolling on this setting eight more times. After the ninth roll, reduce the settings to move the rollers closer together. Feed the dough through each of the remaining settings once until the dough is almost translucent.
Brent’s egg pasta is perfecto! We made two batches of pasta. One pure egg and one spinach. The egg is made with 2 cups of flour, 2 eggs and 2 tsp. of olive oil. Simple.
With patience, Brent folded and rolled and I must say, the texture of the pasta was the best I’ve ever made. This technique is a keeper!
How much more beautiful does this get? Or do I just love food??Our antipasto munchies. The butter is homemade by moi!
Everyone had a task. My friend Eva made a red sauce from tomatoes I canned last summer. Laureen carefully cut out raviolis, made from our homemade spinach pasta, and filled them with spinach and ricotta.
Laureen’s classy raviolis.Sliced veggies ready for their grill marks.
My mom manned the BBQ grilling thinly sliced eggplant and zucchini to be layered into the white béchamel-sauced lasagna.
La mama hard at work.Mom’s finished lasagne The secret ingredient is lemon zest and lemon juice stirred into the finished bechamel.
Eva tossed a salad with greens from my garden, southern Italian olive oil and thick aged balsamic vinegar from The California Olive.
Eva gives a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the greens.Eva showing off the eyes of her bread.
Lucky me for having a great friend who makes the best bread I have ever put in my mouth. Eva presented us with two huge loaves of crunchy Ciabatta with a chewy interior and perfect taste. She seriously needs to take this to the next level and sell her bread to all her fans.
Ciabatta made with love by Eva. Divine.This is one happy kitchen!
The meal was coming together! A bottle of Prosecco and a toast celebrated our friendships. It was time to indulge!
Salute!Mangiamo!Ravioli, fettucine and lasagne. Italian heaven.The company IS the party!
È raccogliendosi a tavola che gli amici apprezzano la gioia di stare insieme. It is around the table that friends understand best the warmth of being together.
Limoncello drenched ice cream and strawberries were the digestive.
If you haven’t thrown a spontaneous party recently, I highly recommend it. All you need is adventurous friends, happy, snappy, music, a few ingredients and a dose of quality time. It’s easier than you’d imagine and more fun too! Buon Appetito!
Thanks to Brent and Laureen for sharing some of their photos with me. Also, The California Olive is a great resource for local and delicious olive oils and balsamic vinegars: www.thecaliforniaolive.com
Abbandonati all’amore e alla cucina! Love and cook with wild abandon!
I love Herbs de Provence. I use it regularly and cannot get enough of it. Every time I visit France, I purchase the herbs at the open air Saturday market from local vendors. Packaged so sweetly in a small paper bag and hand labeled, I try to make it last for a year until I can return for more. This year, I purchased Herbs de Provence in Carcassonne and again in Provence in a small ville outside of Avignon.
A fragrant bouquet of herbs.
When I returned home, anxious to cook with the herbs, I noticed a very different aroma from each of these mixtures. Curious, I wondered exactly which herbs are in this aromatic mix. For some reason, I had assumed there was some sort of standard recipe. Well, there is not! I discovered that herbs frequenting the French table are a combination of local tastes, ranging from savory to sweet, using regional flavors. It was not until the 1970’s when spice companies decided to capitalize on the market demand for French herbs and name them “Herbs de Provence.” Rosemary, thyme, marjoram, bay leaf and savory are the basics but many companies also include fennel and more recently lavender, although sparingly. Some substitute the more pungent oregano for the marjoram and areas close to Italy add basil. I prefer the simpler variety with less outspoken flavors and spiked with just a hint of lavender. The fresh flavors of Herbs de Provence lends itself to poultry, vegetables, soups and sauces.
My herb garden is in full bloom with many of the herbs I’m writing about. Instead of using the dried variety, I decided to create version using the fresh herbs growing outside my kitchen door.
Love to inhale these aromas!
I’m not easily impressed with all the fancy olive oils and vinegars out there used in cooking. Sure, I love my Meyer lemon olive oil but have not really found anything that knocked my socks off until I tasted the California Olive and counterpart, San Felipe Olive Company’s infusions. Great News is our San Diego go-to store for all things cooking. I had a 35% off coupon and was itching to use it. As I perused the cutting boards, the knowledgeable sales rep guided me to an olive oil tasting. I met Jeff who introduced me to three of their featured items. As he poured the Peach Balsamic Vinegar into the tasting cup, I was already in love. The thick syrup and fragrance sold me immediately. Did I need bread with this? No! I wanted to drink it. Immediately I was dreaming of recipes with grilled peaches, figs, fruit salad, chicken. Then he poured me the Rosemary Infused Olive Oil. So fragrant and rich. This would be the base for my Herbs de Provence recipes. Ideas flooded my brain and I couldn’t wait to cook. When he mixed the thick White Balsamic with the Rosemary Infused Oil, a salad came to mind of mixed grains, white beans and Niçoise olives. I wanted to cook all weekend! Here is what transpired.
Butterflied and ready for the buttery herb rub.
A butterflied whole chicken, smothered inside and out with buttery Herbs de Provence and garlic mixture came to mind. I would enhance the flavor by drizzling it with a splash of olive oil but not just any olive oil. The rosemary infused oil that came home with me. Here’s how I came to rediscover a classic flavor – rosemary, a key ingredient in Herbs de Provence.
Hot, grilled and ready to eat!
Really such a simple dish, I grilled it for about 15 minutes on each side and paired it with zucchini from my garden and traditional ratatouille ingredients, eggplant, onions, red pepper and tomatoes.
Zucchini stuffing ready to be chopped. The zucchini is from my garden. I added mushrooms for more flavor although they are not traditional in ratatouille.
As you can see, I roughly chopped the veggies, tossed with salt and pepper and a bit of tomato paste. The veggies were then stuffed into the zucchini, wrapped in foil and placed on the grill for 15 minutes.
Ready for the grill. This is so good I’ve made it several times!
When you cook a whole chicken, there are always leftovers. Chicken salad is an easy way to use it up and create flavorful dishes. Immediately, aioli came to mind, a southern French creation of garlicy mayonnaise. I mixed chopped chicken with my own version of aioli by mashing garlic in my mortar and pestle and slowly adding mayonnaise and rosemary olive oil.
Making the aioli.
A dash of salt and pepper and voilà, the taste is gorgeous.
My creation. Gorgeous and delicious and garlicky!
Slices of fennel garnish the salad, add crunch and a bit of a clean taste to contrast the heat of the garlic. Both dishes are easy to make, very healthy and tasty and make use of all the fresh summer veggies, hopefully from your garden.
A very French dinner including a delightful French rosé wine!
Next I share my passion for late summer and early fall fruit….
