Are they worth the effort? You tell me! Fresh favas, or broad beans, are only available for a short time in spring, so it’s not an effort that you have to, or get to, make that often. I kind of like the meditative aspects of plopping out the beans from their pods like mini-green-bean rocket ships. Cooked in salty water, they taste a lot like edamame, and can be just as deliciously addictive. Here is a recipe for a simple fava bean dip with garlic and goat cheese. It’s terrific with jicama, and cucumber slices. The cool crunchiness of the jicama or cucumber works well with the creamy beany-ness (for lack of a better word) of the dip. Keep squeezing, pinching and snapping, until you’ve de-beaned all the pods. Use a slotted spoon to remove beans from the hot water and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and to shock the beans into maintaining their bright green color. Stream in a tablespoon or two more of olive oil while puréeing. Serve with sliced cucumbers or jicama. Working with fresh fava beans - a great tutorial from Hank Shaw Edamame Avocado Dip here on Simply Recipes
