Artichokes, Fava Bean, and Pea Salad
yield: 4 cups
Amounts easily scaled up or down.
Note on prep time: this recipe requires prepping artichokes, shucking peas, and shucking/boiling/peeling fava beans. You must boil the artichokes, which takes about 20 minutes, and boil the favas before peeling them, which takes about 4 minutes. All the vegetables are lightly sautéed together, which takes about 10 minutes. The real time is in the vegetable prep. How long this takes depends on how quickly or slowly you do these tasks. None are difficult.
All ingredients are pre-cut, pre-shelled weight
2 pounds fresh baby artichokes (if baby artichokes unavailable, buy the smallest size)
2 pounds fava beans
2 pounds peas
1 lemon, halved
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
For the finished dish:
1-2 tablespoons best olive oil
lemon juice, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
Optional additions:
minced parsley
grated parmesan
crumbled Ricotta Salatta
minced scallion
minced preserved lemon rind (replace final squeeze of lemon juice and go easy on salt, if using)
Start with the artichokes. Fill a 3-4 quart non-aluminum pot with lightly salted water. Place on oven over medium heat. Squeeze half a lemon into the water.
To “turn” an artichoke, first slice the top sharp cone off about halfway down vegetable. If the artichoke has a stem, trim the bottom off. Peel with a vegetable peeler until you reach the soft part. Some stems are hard throughout; these are inedible, so slice off.
Now hold the artichoke in your non-dominant hand. Use your dominant hand to tear outer leaves off ruthlessly until you reach inner light yellow leaves. Baby artichokes usually have no choke. Larger artichokes do. If you see a hairy center surrounded by spiky leaves, cut it or dig it out. An iced tea spoon is useful for this.
If your artichokes are larger than baby-sized, cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Artichokes will brown as you work. That’s okay.
Toss artichokes into water. Cover the pot and turn the heat up so water reaches a rolling boil. Cook artichokes until just cooked through, about 20 minutes. A fork should penetrate easily. Do not cook into mush. Drain and set aside.
Save artichoke boiling water for fava beans:
Shuck the fava beans and drop into boiling water. The water you used to boil the artichokes is fine. Cook for 2-4 minutes, depending on the age of your favas. Younger beans need less time. If you are unsure, fish one out with a slotted spoon, cool under water, and test outer skin with a fingernail. If it pierces easily, drain the beans.
While favas cool, shuck peas. Set aside.
Peel fava beans.
In 14-inch frying pan or 4 quart saucier-type pan–I used a Staub “Everyday Pan,” which has a 4-quart capacity, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Squeeze in half a lemon. Add the minced garlic clove. Allow to cook gently for a few minutes. Do not scorch. Add all vegetables, stirring, until done to your liking. Add more olive oil if you wish. My peas were very starchy, so I gave this 15 minutes. It probably needed less time.
Decant into bowl. Season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a generous pour of your best olive oil. Stir in any optional additional ingredients, if using.
Artichokes, Fava Bean, and Pea salad is good at all temperatures, but I like it best lukewarm.
Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container for 3-4 days. Do not freeze.