Fave e Cicoria, Puglian Fava Puree with Greens
Fave e cicoria is the taste of Puglia, in the heel of Italy, a peasant plate that pairs a pale, sweet puree of dried fava beans with a tangle of bitter wild greens. The contrast is the entire idea: the mild, buttery mash against the sharp, almost medicinal edge of the chicory that grows wild in the fields there. Wild chicory is hard to find elsewhere, so this uses mustard greens, whose peppery bitterness comes closest; dandelion greens, escarole, or broccoli rabe would all work. A chunk of potato cooked into the favas makes the puree silky without the olive oil that is normally beaten in by the cupful. It is cheap, filling, and very old, the kind of food that predates the tomato in Italy entirely.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Fava beans, dried, peeled and split
- 1 whole Potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
- 2 cloves Garlic, sliced
- 1 whole Bay leaves
- 1 lb Mustard greens, stemmed, chopped
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Rinse the split favas and put them in a pot with the potato chunks, the bay leaf, and 4 cups (950 ml) water. Peeled, split favas need no overnight soak; if yours are whole with skins on, soak them overnight and slip the skins off, or the puree will stay coarse. A soak the night before also cuts the cooking time roughly in half.
- Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then simmer partly covered for about 50 minutes, until the favas have completely collapsed and the potato is falling apart. Stir now and then near the end and add a splash of water if it threatens to catch, since a thick pot of legumes scorches easily.
- Fish out the bay leaf. Beat the favas and potato hard with a spoon, or blend them, into a smooth puree, loosening with a little of the cooking water until it is soft and spoonable. The potato is the secret to the silk; its starch makes the puree creamy where the favas alone would be grainy. This is the body that olive oil is usually whipped in to provide.
- In a wide pan, cook the garlic and red pepper flakes in 3 tablespoons water for 1 minute, then pile in the greens with the water still clinging to them. Cover and steam until wilted, then uncover and cook off the liquid, about 6 minutes total. Bitter greens are the whole point of the dish, the sharp foil to the sweet, mild puree.
- Spoon the warm puree onto plates and heap the greens alongside or over it. Finish with the lemon juice and black pepper. In Puglia this is drowned in raw olive oil; here the lemon and the bite of the greens do the lifting, and the fava's own richness carries the plate.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 260 calories, 14 g protein, 13 g fiber, 45 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
