One of my favorite stands at the Jack London Square Farmers’ Market in Oakland is the Happy Boy Farms stand. That’s where I almost always buy my salad greens, and usually a whole bagful of whatever else they have available at the moment.
Sunday was no exception. I stopped by to get some arugula for salads, and grabbed some adorable eight-ball zucchinis while I was there. I eyed the prodigious pile of fava pods on one table, but thought about my schedule for the week, and saw no windows of opportunity for the slow, meticulous process of prepping the beans. Instead, I grabbed a bundle of mint, and went to check out.
“I would have grabbed some of the favas, but I’ve got no time this week to deal with them,” I told the Happy Boy Farms worker.
“Have you seen our recipe over there?” he replied, nodding in the direction of the pile. “You can roast them, and then just eat them like edamame.”
I walked back to the pile, and indeed, there was a laminated article that featured what looked like the easiest recipe ever. Roasting has become my very favorite way to prep vegetables, but it had never occurred to me it would work with favas.
Indeed, it does. Peeling, blanching, and peeling some more? Only if you’ve really got the time. But if you’re like the rest of us, or you don’t have a sous chef, here’s one way to enjoy these seasonal beans without missing whatever you had scheduled during the season.
There’s not really a recipe needed. Just fire up the oven to 450 degrees, and wash the beans thoroughly.
Toss the beans with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Spread them out in a single layer on a baking stone or sheet.
Roast them for 25 minutes.
Let them cool enough to handle, and then remove the beans. Eat them out of hand, or use them in your favorite fava recipe.
Want to learn more about roasted favas? Try one of these stories:
- Sophie Brickman’s San Francisco Chronicle column about roasting fava beans
- A16′s Whole Roasted Fava Beans by Shuna Lydon of Eggbeater
- Announcement: Fava Bean Season Has Arrived! by Ariel of Confessions of a Modern Day Farm Girl
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