This salad emphasizes the strong flavors of the garlic and cumin. To make the process easier, you can use canned pre-cooked fava beans, available in Mediterranean grocery stores.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
1 cup dry brown fava beans, not the yellow peeled fava
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon
Small bunch Italian parsley, roughly chopped
Soak the fava beans in water in a pot overnight unrefrigerated.
Drain the water and cover with fresh water, a couple of inches above the fava beans.
Start cooking the fava beans over high heat. When the water reaches the boiling point, cover the pot and cook for about 2 hours over the lowest heat, until the beans are soft. Stir occasionally.
Drain the beans.
Over low heat, roast the cumin seeds in a pan until they release their aroma.
Put the cumin, garlic and kosher salt in a mortar, and use the pestle to create a smooth paste. Alternatively, crush the garlic in a garlic press and mix with the cumin and salt. Mix the olive oil into the mortar, and pour the mixture over the warm fava beans.
Section the lemon, and add the peeled sections into the salad together with the parsley. Mix and serve.
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