I’ve never been a fan of lima beans. Growing up, my mom sometimes served frozen mixed vegetables (warmed in the microwave with a pat of butter) with meat loaf or teriyaki. I’d always stick to the corn, carrots, peas and green beans and push the lima beans aside, even if there were just a few floating in the medley. Something about the color and sheer size of the legumes made them entirely unappealing. Not much has changed since then.
Fava beans are a very different beast. While butter beans are starchy and bland, broad beans are smooth, sweet and ever so tasty – including the frozen variety. (Disclosure: I’ve never actually cooked fresh fava beans but am sure they’re amazing.)
You can toss them with farro or sauté them with veggies for a refreshing salad or side dish. If you use pre-shelled fava beans, this succotash comes together in minutes. And while it’s not a far cry from the mixed vegetables my mom used to prepare ingredient-wise, it’s somehow a bit fancier looks- and flavor-wise. But I’ll let you be the judge.
Recipe adapted from The Joy of Cooking.
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes
- 1 cup fresh or frozen shelled fava beans
- 1½ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
- 1 medium tomato, finely diced
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
- In a medium fry pan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add garlic and chili flakes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add fava beans, corn and tomato and sauté until most of the liquid from the tomato has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove from heat and stir in basil just before serving.
This was absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and both my husband and I devoured it.
I am so glad you both enjoyed the recipe, Leslie! Thanks for giving the recipe a try!