Fava bean pesto: a favorite farmer's market recipe

July 22, 3:37 PMSeattle Ethnic Restaurants ExaminerRachel Belle

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Seattle Ethnic Restaurants Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Favas

You have no idea how hard it was for me not to call this my fava-rite summer recipe. Not to write this up in June as a Fava's Day treat for you and your dad. But I feared that my love of embarrassingly nerdy puns might keep a few people from reading this article. So I refrained. Please read on.

When it comes to eating, I am not a creature of habit. But after I tasted this Orzo Salad with Fava Bean Pesto, I have been rushing down to the farmer's market every Sunday, filling up bags with the big green pods. We are smack dab in the middle of fava bean season, so it's the perfect time to taste the ancient beans (which are actually a member of the pea family), if you have never cooked with them before.

The thing about favas is, they are a bit high maintenance. Before you can incorporate them into a recipe, the beans must first be popped out of their pods. Then you must blanch them for a few minutes in a pot of boiling water. A cool rinse under the tap will allow you to begin stage three: peeling off the little membrane from each bean. Hey look! They're ready now! That wasn't so hard. It's actually quite a calming ritual.

This bright, garlicky orzo salad is perfect for a potluck, BBQ side dish or a light summer meal. When you pull the leftovers out of the fridge, you will be thrilled to find that the orzo didn't stick together and the flavors have intensified.

Fava Bean Orzo Salad

You'll need about 2 ½ pounds of raw fava beans for this recipe.

-1/2 cup fava beans, peeled and blanched (about 1lb raw, in pods)
-12 oz orzo
-4 oz feta cheese (cubed or crumbled) *optional
-1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
-1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
-1 ear fresh corn, chopped off the cob (cut off the cob first, then quickly blanch)
-Juice of 1 lemon

Fava Bean Pesto

-1 cup fava beans, peeled and blanched (about 1 1/2 lbs raw, in pods)
-1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-1/3 cup olive oil
-2 cloves fresh garlic

-Cook orzo according to instructions, and reserve some pasta water for later.
-While orzo is cooking, make the pesto:

-In a food processor or blender, puree all ingredients. Add more oil or pasta water until it is a nice, smooth paste.
-Mix orzo and Fava Bean Pesto in a large bowl. Add a little pasta water to thin it out, if necessary.

-Add pine nuts, fava beans, feta cheese, basil, corn kernels, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Should be served at room temperature