Italian | Fava Beans with Ricotta Salata

Posted on May 4, 2012

Fava beans from the farm! This was really good, fresh and tasty. You can scale the recipe down depending on how many fava beans you have.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds young fava beans in the pod, shelled

scant 1/4 cup Lemon Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Maldon or other flaky sea salt

a 3-ounce chunk of ricotta salata for grating

coarsely ground black pepper

 

Method

If the fava beans are young and tender, there is no need to peel them. If not, blanch the beans in a medium pot of boiling salted water for 30 seconds, just to loosen the skins. Drain, transfer to an ice batch to cool, and drain again. To peel the favas, pinch open the skin at one end of each bean and squeeze out the bean.

Toss the fava beans with the vinaigrette in a medium bowl and season with salt. Grate the ricotta over the favas, sprinkle pepper over the top, and serve immediately.

 

LEMON VINAIGRETTE

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon marmellata (marmalade) or a generous pinch of grated lemon zest

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, preferably Tuscan

 

Whisk the lemon juice, marmellata, and olive oil together in a small bowl.

 

(Ref. "Fresh Fava Beans with Ricotta Salata" recipe, Molto Gusto.)