I was offered the chance to collect the veggies my neighbors were unable to use this week from their share of the Oakhill Organics CSA. This means going to town where the CSA has set up in the Saturday Market parking lot - my neighbors are signed up for "5" veggies. I selected 2 boxes of Strawberries, 1 bunch of Chard, 1 bunch of Kale, and 1 little bucket of Fava Beans in the pod. I've never had Fava Beans, fresh from the farm..JPG)
Seems to be varying opinions on how to prep Fava Beans - get them out of the pod, steam or boil them, then put them in ice water. Now, after this, some people say to pop the bean/pea out of it's outer skin. Others say, why bother, eat the skin and get more fiber. For some people (400 million worldwide who are genetically prone to Favism), eating Fava Beans can make them sick - but, that has less to do with the skin and more like the whole bean is a problem for them. 
I chose to leave the bean in its outer skin. I also chose to boil the beans in a concoction that I reduced to a thick slurry which I put on top of my plated food like a dressing.
Cook the beans by boiling them for about 20 minutes in:
2/3 cups Fava Beans, shelled, out of the pod
1 Cup Water
1 tsp Hot Paprika
1/2 tsp Curry Powder
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Cardamon
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Mrs Dash
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Garlic, minced
Using a slotted spoon, retrieve the boil Fava Beans and put them in a bowl of cold water. Continue to cook the liquid down.
Steam 1.25 cups of Kale for 2 minutes in microwave
Serve by placing steamed kale on plate, and top with
- cooked Fava Beans
- 6 grape-size tomatos, halved
- 5 green olives, halved
- 5 nicoise olives (sort of like kalamata)
Top with the boiled down liquid in which the Fava Beans were cooked.
Rated a 4.75 on the Kale Scale
