Fava Beans Dry

Fava Bean

Fava Bean is a plant of the Leguminosae family. It comes with stem and leaves. The fruit of this plant is a large pod, about 30 centimeters long, cylindrical or flattened, ending in a point, erect or pendulous. Inside there are 2 to 10 seeds - which make up the edible part of the plant. They can initially be green in color, then darken - from hazelnut to brown - when ripe. It is a plant mainly active in the spring, between April and May, although its seeds - once dried - can be consumed all year round.

Fava Bean were already known in the Bronze Age thanks to their nutritional properties. Its origins can be traced back to Asian countries. From there, they came to influence the nutrition of Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. Until the last century, these legumes represented the main source of vitamins in many countries of Southern Italy. Currently, the largest bean producers are Germany, Italy, and China.

Fava Beans: nutritional properties values

They are rich in proteins and vegetable fibers, low in fats, the beans have diuretic and energizing properties. They are perfect for low-calorie food regimes because, for every 100 grams of product, they only supply 71 kcal. But this calorie intake is related to fresh Fava Beans. The dry ones instead, for the same amount of legumes, have 305 kcal.

The dried flowers of fava (it only takes 10 grams in 250 ml of water) can be used to prepare a decoction with diuretic properties. The same effect can be obtained with 50 grams of pods in half a liter of water. A cup of cooked beans contains 44% of the daily requirement of folic acid.

Fava Beans: varieties

Among the different varieties of beans available on the market, the most common is the Baggiana with short and wide pods and large and crushed seeds. Then there is the Reina Mora characterized by a purple grain, the Aguadulce supersimony with long and large pods with a delicate flavor and a bright green color and the Superaguadulce which has large seeds of a light green color.

Fava Beans: how to choose them

To choose the best beans, you must first evaluate the pod. It must be shiny, hard, crunchy, bright green, and snap with a snap. Unlike peas, the beans deteriorate immediately, so it is easy to distinguish fresh pods from older ones with a single glance.

How to prepare Fava beans

As with all dried legumes, even the beans need to be soaked for at least 12 hours before being cooked. There are two types of dried Fava Beans, those with the skin and the unskinned ones. In this case, the soaking time required before cooking changes: 16-18 hours for dried fava beans and the latter 8-10 hours. However, you can cook the beans without soaking if you use the legumes just extracted from the pod. It is excellent both with bread and cheese and in salads.

The individual seeds are covered with a white outer skin that must be removed before cooking the beans. To easily do this, just blanch the seeds for 5 minutes. If you want to give the recipe a more herbaceous taste, just reduce the boiling time. After boiling the beans, pass them under a jet of cold water and remove the skin that covers them. The operation is used to make the beans more digestible. However, if the seeds are small, the operation is not necessary.

How to cook Fava beans

Fava Beans can be protagonists of many different types of cooking. For example, you can prepare baked beans, a tasty second course, perhaps to be accompanied with boiled potatoes and vegetables. Combining an onion sauce in a saucepan, put the beans in the oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes, with oil and parsley. To cook the beans steamed, simply use the castle cooking (in this case you can follow the recipe for Thermomix beans ) or put the legumes in a container on a pan full of boiling water, obtaining tasty boiled beans.

The most common method of preparation is that of stewed Fava Beans. After frying oil and garlic for a couple of minutes, add the beans and in the meantime heat the water. Season the beans with salt and pepper and pour the hot water into the saucepan, lower the heat, cover and cook for about 15 minutes.

How to store and freeze Fava beans

Although there are pods and the skin to protect them, the beans must not remain too much in the fridge. It is a very delicate legume that can last for two or three days, then they turn black. For this reason, if you are not going to eat them immediately, it is better to freeze them. You can put both clean and blanched in a bag for a couple of minutes.

How to combine Fava beans

Among the best 10 recipes with beans, the combinations of this legume with half sleeves and pecorino, or inside omelets stand out. The risotto with cuttlefish and Fava Beans is also excellent. The fava bean and chicory puree are also essential in the traditional recipe book. For wine, you can opt for Lazio wines such as Passerina del Frusinate or Pinot Bianco with citrus nuances.

Tricks to make children eat beans

Since the beans can be responsible for allergic reactions, it is advisable to insert them on the menu in small doses. Given their nutritional richness, they cannot be excluded a priori. They can be presented to children as a game, to associate fresh beans to eat as they are with a moment of fun.  

Fava Beans Dry is often pureed with olive oil and served with bitter greens in the Southern Italian region of Puglia. Versatile Organic Fava Beans can be stewed, boiled, pureed, sautéed or roasted, and the dried beans can be ground into a flour. Whole, unpeeled, cooked Organic Fava Beans can be roasted, spiced and eaten as a snack. Add to stews, especially those including lamb, a favorite partner for Fava Beans

2.2 pound (1 kilogram)

Ingredients: Fava beans, raw – May contain traces of gluten, soy and sesame

Packaging: Plastic Wrap

Flavor: Buttery
Color: Off White, yellowish

Product of Italy