Celebrate Spring with Fava Beans

Perhaps the least known legume in North America, fava beans have served as a culinary staple dating back to prehistorical times. The versatile fava bean, a member of the pea family, answers to other names such as broad, horse, English, or Windsor Bean. Harvested in the spring, fava beans hold up to refrigeration for several days or store well frozen or dried for later use. Fava beans are often a sign of spring in Europe and in restaurants across the U.S. The beans are bright green but also come with tinges of red, purple, or brown. What a great way to add beautiful colors to your meals!Nutritional BenefitsLike other legumes, fava beans provide a generous amount of both soluble and insoluble fibers and phytochemicals. Soluble fiber helps lower LDL cholesterol, insoluble fiber acts as a broom in your large intestine and phytochemicals may inhibit the growth of certain cancers. 1 cup of cooked fava beans provides 187 calories, 13 grams protein, virtually no fat, 60 mg calcium, 4 mcg selenium, 175 mcg folate, and 9 grams of fiber.How to Use ThemSee the success tips below to determine if your beans need to be removed from the pod. While the mature beans cook similarly to lima beans, fava beans provide a less starchy mouth feel - a big plus for many diners. Like other beans, fava beans are mild in flavor and adaptable to many culinary applications.• Use fava beans in soups, pasta dishes and casseroles; try them in a stir-fry.• Saute them with olive oil; add lemon juice or flavored vinegar; include favorite seasonings such as garlic, basil, oregano and black pepper.• Add rosemary and garlic to fava beans and top with Parmesan cheese.• Serve the sauteed beans as a side dish, or cool and use as a salad.• Make a springtime vegetable medley using broccoli, artichokes, carrots and/or mushrooms.• Include fava beans in risotto or your favorite rice dish.• Try tossing them with traditional salad fare (lettuces, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, for instance) or toss them alone with grated carrot and minced bell peppers.• The sauteed beans can also be pureed with a little olive oil, vinegar and fresh herbs such as parsley, rosemary and garlic; serve it as a sauce for grilled fish or poultry or as a dip for crusty bread or vegetables.• Include fava beans in a variety of dishes and impress family, friends, and clients with your worldly knowledge and flair for the slightly unusual!Success Tips:• Early in the season, when the fava bean is young and fresh, you can eat the bean and pod together like snap peas.• Mature but still young beans are best once removed from the pod, but they are tender enough to eat in the skin, even raw.• Older and larger beans require parboiling to loosen the skin that becomes tough with age. If the process doesn’t completely remove the skin, manually slip the bean from the skin before serving or adding to a recipe.• Make the shelling and peeling a social activity before your meal. Guests often congregate in the kitchen and would probably love to see how you prepared these unusual beans.CautionIndividuals on medication to increase dopamine levels (as in Parkinson’s disease) or to block dopamine catabolism (MAO inhibitors) should consume fava beans with caution or not at all. Also, individuals native to the Mediterranean countries and parts of Asia may experience a genetic sensitivity to catabolic products of fava beans. This condition is called favism. Initial symptoms mirror flu and are easily treatable, but if not treated favism develops into hemolytic anemia.By Rachel Trevethan, MS, RD, LD.