My parents gave me two 1-gallon bags full of unshelled fava beans. Yeah, pass them off to the unemployed person because, my god!, they are labor-intensive. I decided to make a dip with them. I probably spent about 45 minutes shelling them (part 1). Then another 45 minutes squeezing them out of their secondary skins (part 2). The dip is pretty good, so I guess it was worth it. What else was I going to do, anyway?
Here’s how to prep the fresh beans. Step one, shell the beans. Once you rip the pod a little, the beans slide out easily. There are 4-6 beans per pod. This is what the beans look like next to their empty pods.
Step two is to cook the beans to soften the secondary skin part (I’m sure there’s a correct name for it). I steamed mine, but you can also parboil them. I steamed them for about 4 minutes, until the outer skin was shriveled and the bean was tender.
Next, I slipped the skin off the beans. This takes awhile because you have to do each one individually and there are TONS. Now your beans are ready! This dip comes out a beautiful green color.
Moroccan Fava Bean Dip
- about 2 cups fresh fava beans
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 Tb water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika (I did 1/2 tsp smoked and 1/2 tsp sweet paprika)
Put all ingredients in the food processor and process until smooth. Adjust seasoning as needed. Served garnished with paprika.
(Adapted from “Moroccan Fava Bean (Broad Bean) Dip Recipe – Bessara”)
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