Fava Bean Puree.

I have been excited about fava beans for, oh, 3 months. I kept hoping to see them at the Farmer's market, and almost gave up hope of getting some local beans.

Then, the other day a friend took me out to dinner and I ordered gnocchi with kale pesto and fava beans- which is as delicious as it sounds (if it doesn't sound delicious to you, we obviously have differing taste), and only reinforced my desire for some beans of my own.

This Saturday at the farmers market was a successful day for fava beans. I saw a sign that said 'Fava Beans- $2 a pound, $1.25 a pound if you buy 20 or more pounds'- which I thought was a little excessive. I bought about 1.5 pounds of beans.

What I really wanted to do was make some fava bean raviolis, but attempted a simpler fava bean puree- which was pretty much just what I needed at the moment- fresh yet hearty and comforting.

Fava bean puree- thrown together by yours truly

about 1.5 pounds fava beans
cream
lemon zest
lemon juice
salt
pepper
garlic
parmasean

Fava beans make you work for the good stuff inside. You've got to shell them, boil them and shell them again. It's really quite satisfying work- though I can't speak for doing this for 20 pounds

Anyway, after you've got them shelled, pop the little buggers in a pot of boiling water- I think mine were in there for about 5 minutes, maybe 7, 5-7.

Drain and submerge beans in an ice bath- the waxy skins will shrink around the bean. Squeeze the beans out into a food processor.

Add a couple splashes of cream, one diced clove of garlic, the zest of one lemon and 1 tbs lemon juice. pulse until a puree is created, adding more cream as needed. Add salt, pepper and parm to taste. Pulse once more to incorporate.

Serve with a crusty bread.