Shavua Tov,
The green fava bean, Vicia faba, is a Mediterranean, north African and probably central Asian crop. It is an ancient ancient crop from the Stone Age and is mentioned in the bible as one of the most important vegetables to feed people and animals. It is a bean, which, combined with a grain, produces a fully constituted protein usable by the human digestive system, as is written in Yehezkel 4, 9:
"ואתה קח לך חטין ושערים ופול ועדשים ודחן וכסמים ונתתה אותם בכלי אחד ועשית אותם לך ללחם מספר הימים אשר אתה שוכב על צדך שלש מאות ותשעים יום תאכלנו"
In Yiftahel in the lower Galilee an archeological site was excavated from the Neolithic era – 8 thousand BC, and they found Fava beans there!!
In our days in the western world there is a tendency to return to the traditional seasonal vegetables and the famous London chef, Gordon Ramsi, calls the fava "the Rolls Royce of the spring vegetables" Nice, huh?
So what do we do with it?
If the beans are young they can be eaten with the pod; if the pod is tough then better to remove them. Fava is a true pacifist and goes well with everything – zaatar, lemon, garlic, meat, chicken, omelettes, rice, yogurt… everything! Even Hannibal Lecter likes it with a certain type of liver.
In Israel the fava bean is a common crop among the Israeli Arabs and in Egypt it is the most basic sustenance food they have. Their breakfast contains fava beans and even their falafel is made of it.
In Jewish families from Damascus the fava is a necessary dish before and during Passover. According to their legend, the women's white palms blacken from peeling enormous amounts of the fava bean, but the tough rough hands of the men do not blacken. So go for it men, to the kitchen!
The simplest way to prepare fava beans is to steam them until soft and turn them into a salad or add them to a salad. But they can be fried, baked, souped or even mashed. My friend served them steamed with ground salt and everyone agreed it was better than the well-loved adamame (green soya beans). Today we made croquettes out of fava beans and a variety of vegetables… it truly goes well with all vegetables.
If you can't use all the fava beans that you receive, simply scald with boiling water and freeze for future use.
HAVE A GREAT EQUAL WEEK
Lavrioot!
Yours,
MAGGIE AND THE GARDEN TEAM
We expect in our organic vegetable baskets:
Carrot
Kyle
Paul Green
Leeks
Radishes
parsley
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Potatoes
lettuce
And celery
The largest organic vegetable baskets, including:
No green
Spinach
Rocket
broccoli
Organic fruit baskets;
Bananas
Clementines
Oranges
And strawberries
The largest organic fruit baskets, including:
Oranges
And Sweetie
