Fava Beans with Peas, Crème fraïche, and Mustard
yield: 2 cups, shucked, approximately 3-4 servings
prep time: approximately 1 hour, most of which is bean peeling
1 1/2 pounds fava beans
3/4 pound fresh peas
olive oil, for the pan
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced thinly
1 scallion, peeled, trimmed, sliced into thin rings, white and light green parts
1 tablespoon crème fraïche, commercial or home-made (recipe below)
1 teaspoon Dijon or Amora mustard (I used Amora)
generous squeeze lemon (I used a quarter of a large Meyer lemon)
salt and pepper (go easy on salt, as mustard can be salty)
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Crème fraïche: from David Tanis’s A Platter Of Figs
2 cups organic heavy cream
1/4 cup full-fat yogurt or buttermilk
We’re starting backwards here, you’ll need to start the night before if you’re making crème fraïche.The cream must be organic, and not heavily pasteurized, because good bacteria is necessary for crème fraïche.
In an immaculate glass or ceramic bowl, mix the cream with the yogurt or buttermilk. Cover with a clean towel. Leave on your counter 12-24 hours.
The cream will thicken. Decant into a refrigerator-safe container. Keeps for two weeks (or slightly longer).
To peel the fava beans, half fill a saucepan with water and place it on the stove. Turn heat to medium. Place a strainer in the sink.
Set up two bowls and either your compost bin or trash can. Work according to your dominant hand. Start with the pods in one bowl. Strip the beans from the pod, place them in the second bowl, and toss pods in compost or trash. When all the beans ready, crank up the burner and toss beans into the pot. After a couple minutes, test a few beans by tossing them in strainer and running cool water over them. Peel. If the outer skins come off easily, turn off burner and lift remaining beans out with a slotted spoon. If not, cook a little longer. When beans are ready, transfer to strainer with slotted spoon. Save the water in the pot.
While favas cool in strainer, turn to peas, podding them the same way you shucked the fava beans. If peas are very starchy, you may wish to parboil them. If so, toss them in the fava bean-cooking water for a few minutes. If not, leave them in the bowl.
By now, fava beans will be cool enough to handle. You can peel them straight from strainer or tip them into the free bowl.
If you are parboiling peas, skim them into strainer to cool. Water in the pot can be using for washing up.
To peel outer skins off fava beans, pierce them with your thumbnail.
For the final cooking, place a deep sauté pan on the stove–I used a 3 quart pan measuring 12 inches across. Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and turn the heat to medium. Add the garlic and scallion. Cook, stirring, so the aromatics soften, losing their bite without browning. Add the peas and favas. It’s better to keep the heat low and cook this dish longer, especially if using commercial crème fraïche, which can break at high heat.
Add the crème fraïche and mustard, stirring constantly, ensuring each blends with the beans instead of sticking or clinging. Add salt and pepper. Add lemon, stirring. Taste for seasoning. Crème fraïche is very rich and can muffle flavors, which isn’t the aim here. Does the dish need more lemon? mustard? Do the beans need more cooking? They could need anywhere from 2-10 minutes depending on their freshness.
We like this with fish. It would be lovely with pork, chicken or stirred into pasta. I don’t see it with red meat, but that’s personal preference only.
Notes: You can use any ratio of fava beans to peas. Frozen peas also work well here.