Ligurian Raw Fava Bean Spread – modified by John
This is basically the recipe for the raw fava bean spread, except that I modified it. I
added more garlic and spring onions. I did cook everything slightly before blending.
2.0-2.5 lbs unshelled fava beans or enough to make about 1.5 cups of shelled beans
2-4 tblsp of fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese
0.5 tsp very finely minced fresh garlic, 1 large fresh clove minced for 2.5 cups of beans
1/3 - ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
6-8 mint leaves, more like 8-10 if using 2+ cups of shelled beans
1.5 tlbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice, more like 2-2.5 – preferably Meyer lemons
1 small spring onion sliced thin
Remove beans from pod. Blanch beans in boiling water for about 1 min after they return
to a boil, drain and put in ice water to cool. Peel beans and then sauté onions about 1-2
min in ~ 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add garlic and sauté 30 sec and then add beans. Cook
mixture about 2 minutes and then let cool before adding to Cuisinart. Put everything in a
food processor and process until creamy. Don’t add all the olive oil immediately. Put
part of in and process. Add more to gain the desired consistency. Start off on the low end
of lemon juice, mint and cheese, taste and add more to get the desired taste.
3 lbs. unshelled beans gives about 2.5 cups shelled beans of various sizes and about 1lb
of shelled beans.
I did not want to go through the process of getting fresh fava beans and couldn’t find a
frozen version so I used frozen baby lima beans instead. Tried this with peas and it was
nice but not as interesting as with lima beans.
For the lima bean version, I used everything as above except I replaced the fava beans
with frozen baby lima beans. I also added a bit more mint. Having made it a couple of
times. I think you can adjust the ingredients to taste.
John’s Version with Baby Lima Beans
1. lbs frozen baby lima beans.
2-3 tblsp of fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese
0.5 tsp very finely minced fresh garlic
¾ -1 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 mint leaves (depends on how aromatic they are)
1.5 tlbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice – preferably Meyer lemons
1. Cook lima beans and let cool a bit.
2. Put everything in the food processor and process until creamy.
3. You may need to add extra olive oil to get a creamy consistency.
4. Taste and adjust amount of oil and lemon juice