Dried Fava Beans With Bitter Greens Food

SPICY FAVA BEAN FRITTERS WITH LEMON MINTED YOGURT

Steps:

• These fritters make a delicious snack. They not only taste awesome but they look amazing - dark and crunchy on the outside, bright green and soft inside! They're simple to make, and the spiciness just makes them work. This dish is best made with early season, fresh-as-a-daisy, pastel-green fava beans. Or you can use frozen fava beans - simply defrost them and pinch off the skins.
• Boil any larger white-skinned fava beans for 30 seconds, then drain. When cool, pinch their skins off - they'll taste less bitter if you do this. Now whiz the cilantro and half the mint in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper, and then add the spices, chile, fava beans and lemon zest and whiz until finely chopped (stopping once or twice to scrape the mixture off the sides). Sprinkle in the flour and pulse for a few seconds. Don't add any more flour or the mixture will become too dry.
• Get a large saucepan and pour in the vegetable oil until it's 2 to 3 inches deep. Be careful - keep kids and pets away, and make sure the handle isn't sticking out so you don't accidentally catch it and spill the hot oil. Heat the oil. To check whether it's hot enough for frying, drop in the piece of potato - as soon as it sizzles and floats to the top, you're in business. Remove the potato and discard it.
• Cover a plate with a sheet of waxed paper. Scoop up a small amount of the fava bean mixture and either use your hands or 2 spoons to shape it into little rounds, then put them onto the plate. When they're all done, carefully lower 1of them into the hot oil with a slotted spoon and fry until crispy brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. When you've got the hang of it, fry the rest of them - they should all fit into the pan at the same time but, if not, simply do in batches.
• For the lemon minted yogurt, squeeze half the lemon juice into the yogurt. Pick and chop the rest of your the leaves and stir them in, adding salt and pepper, to taste. Dress your salad leaves with a squeeze of lemon juice and some olive oil.
• Sprinkle the fritters with salt and serve with the lemon minted yogurt, the dressed salad leaves and some pickled chilies.

DRIED FAVA BEANS WITH BITTER GREENS

Steps:

• Soak the beans overnight in cold water, drain and gently pull the outer skin off and discard. Place in a deep, ovenproof cooking pot, add cold water to cover the beans, cover and place over a high flame until the mixture starts to boil.
• As the beans begin to boil, skim the foam. When the foam ceases to rise, add a pinch of salt and stir well. Cook for 1 hour more, stirring frequently and adding more cold water to keep the beans covered. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, use a wooden spoon to stir and pulverize the beans. When the beans are mashed and have the consistency of clotted cream, beat in i cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• While the beans are cooking, clean the greens and boil in water until tender. Drain and toss with the remaining olive oil, salt and pepper to to taste. Serve the beans and the greens with thick country bread.

FAVA BEANS WITH BITTER GREENS

Steps:

• 1 Place the beans and potato in a large pot. Add cold water to cover by 1/2 inch. Bring to a simmer and cook until the beans are very soft and falling apart and all the water is absorbed. 2 Add salt to taste. Mash the beans with the back of a spoon or a potato masher. Stir in the oil. 3 Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the greens and salt to taste. Cook until tender, depending on the variety of greens, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain well. 4 Dry the pot. Add the oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook over medium heat until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add the drained greens and salt to taste. Toss well. 5 Spread the bean puree on a serving platter. Pile the greens on top. Drizzle with more oil if desired. Serve hot or warm. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

DRIED FAVA BEAN SNACKS

Steps:

• Heat 2/3 of a cup of vegetable oil or olive oil in a large pan.
• Add 1/2 cup of the halved beans at a time to the oil.
• When favas begin to brown, remove with slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels to catch the excess oil.
• Repeat with 1/2 cup.
• When all the fava beans have been cooked, lightly sprinkle with salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper or your fav seasoning.
• They will become crispy when you let them cool off.