During fava bean season, we always enjoy that soft tender green bean with some beer and salt, but I always love to try cooking at least once or twice with fresh seasonable beans some healthy clean recipes. For this recipe, I wanted to cook a balanced filling meal with those green fresh beans.
The fava beans are an ancient member of the pea family; they have a nutty taste and buttery texture. This is one of the reasons why I like to cook with fresh fava beans. You can always do the same recipe with frozen ones but I think you can all agree that nothing competes with fresh organic seasonable vegetables.
Fava beans do take a bit of work, they have to be shelled and their outer skin needs to be removed as well, but they’re deliciously worth it, as we all know and enjoy in spring nights with friends, so the next time you are chilling with friends with some beer and fava beans, set some aside to try in this delicious recipe.
I tried this recipe with a mixed beans base of fava and chickpea to add more colors to the dish but you can totally do it with only fava beans to benefit as much as possible of those fresh beans before the season ends.
It is a delicious vegetarian dish, full of flavors and colors, very filling and clean and yes ! Top it with cheese but let me be honest here, with or without the cheese topping this dish is just super moist, buttery, and delicious.
And for those that are not yet convinced about cooking with some fava… I will tell you few reasons why you SHOULD use more fava beans in your cooking that will make you smile.
First Fava beans, for those of you who don’t know, are a great source of protein and fiber. They lower blood pressure and promote heart health. They help increase metabolic rate and aid in weight loss. They lower cholesterol and are a great mood enhancers (even without the beer that goes perfectly with :P) and many other benefits that make them a nutritional powerhouse.
A small fact about those buttery beans:
A cup of fava beans is less than 200 calories, making it a low-calorie option with high fiber content but low in fat, and it is also high protein with 13 g per cup. Which makes it a perfect snack to help keep you full till lunch or dinner.
So the next time you are chilling with friends and snacking on some fresh fava beans and someone tells you to take it easy on those beans , don’t listen to them (yummi) because it is for sure better from snacking on chips and processed unhealthy snacks. For me honestly, everything natural and organic and coming right from nature to our table is something trustable and good to have!
Fava Eggs Gratin:
yield One serving or two side dishes
Ingredients:
For the base:
1 cup chickpea
1 cup fava beans*
1 egg
1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
For the Salsa:
½ Tbsp. flour
½ Tbsp. olive oil
½ cup unsweetened almond milk (or you can use 0% fat Milk)
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. Cumin
¼ tsp. white pepper
¼ tsp. nutmeg
Instructions:
- Preheat oven on 200 C°.
- Bring water to boil, add salt and vinegar.
- Break the egg in the boiling water and let it boil in the water for 2 minutes until the egg white cover the egg yolk completely and the egg it’s cooked.
- Wash and drain the chickpea and same for the bean. Sprinkle salt, pepper and cumin and mix well.
- Sprinkle the oil in a heated pan and add the chickpea and bean and toss for a couple of minutes.
- In a small Pirex Bowl * pour half of the quantities of the chickpea and beans mixture than add the egg and pour the rest of the mixture.
- In the same pan used for tossing the beans, add olive oil, heat the pan and add the flour, mix well than add the milk while keep stirring the mixture all the time, add the nutmeg, cumin and white pepper and stir for a couple of minutes until the mixture is thicken and start to boil, remove from heat and pour the sauce over the egg and beans Pirex.
- Top it all with the Parmesan cheese and Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Nutritional Information:
Serving size: 01 / Calories: 378 calories / carbs: 43.8 g/fat: 15.7 g/ protein: 23.7 g / fiber: 11.7
Notes:
* To cook with the fresh fava beans: First shell the beans. Bring a bit pot of salted water to boil, drop the cleaned bans into it and let it simmer for a minute. Darin the water and immediately put it into a big bowl full of ice cold water to stop it from cooking further. Now peel each one of the beans to reveal the beautiful green inner bean. Discard the outer peel. Now your lava beans are ready to cook.it take a little time but it is totally worth it.
*you don’t have to use a pirex, you can use a baking pan or tray, whatever you have in hand that is a little deep so it can hold the base and white sauce.