Spring brings new colors, new flavors, and… fava beans, which this season take center stage in my kitchen. Versatile, fresh, and nutritious, they’re perfect for creating dishes that combine flavor and sustainability.
In this article I’ve collected three recipes featuring fava beans , each with its own soul: one as a creative appetizer, one for fresh pasta with bold flavors, and a gourmet recipe to serve on special occasions.
1. Evergreen Tris
This recipe won me the Gnammo Contest in 2012. A dish that epitomizes my vision of sustainable cuisine, capable of valorizing parts of the ingredients that often end up in the organic waste, but which can still have a story to tell, if treated with creativity and respect.
Broad bean flan with Greek yogurt cream and mint
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of broad bean pods
- 3 eggs
- 150 ml fresh cream (or thick béchamel sauce)
- 60 g grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons of flour
- Nutmeg, salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil
For the cream:
- Greek yogurt
- Fresh mint
- Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper
Procedure:
Steam the pods for 15 minutes and then pass them through a food mill. In a blender, combine the puree with the eggs, cream, Parmesan cheese, flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour into greased and floured muffin tins. Bake in a bain-marie at 160–170°C (320–340°F) for 40 minutes.
For the sauce, mix yogurt with oil, salt, pepper, and chopped mint. Serve the flan warm with the cream on the side.
Cold fennel mousse with orange zest and black pepper
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of fennel outer leaves and scraps
- 2 boiled potatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Orange zest
- Salt, black pepper
Procedure:
Steam the fennel trims until tender. Pass through a food mill, then blend with the boiled potatoes, oil, salt, and pepper until smooth. Cool and serve with julienned orange zest.
Buffalo mozzarella tartare with raw asparagus and chopped almonds
Ingredients:
- 1 buffalo mozzarella
- Raw asparagus stalks
- Toasted almonds
- Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper
Procedure:
Dice the mozzarella into small cubes. Thinly slice the asparagus stalks with a vegetable peeler. Season with oil, salt, and pepper. Toast the almonds and chop them coarsely. Assemble the tartare using a pastry cutter.
2. Macaroni with broad bean cream, pecorino fondue, and crispy anchovy bread
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- 250 g of fresh egg macaroni
- 300 g of cleaned broad beans (frozen or otherwise)
- 250 ml fresh cream
- 150 g grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 4 anchovies in oil
- 2 slices of durum wheat semolina bread
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt, pepper
Procedure:
Crispy bread: Coarsely blend the bread. In a pan, melt the anchovies with a little oil and add the bread. Toast for 10 minutes until crispy.
Fondue: Melt the pecorino with the cream in a bain-marie, season with pepper.
Cream of broad beans: Blanch the broad beans for 10 minutes, blend them with a drizzle of oil and a little cooking water, filter them through a chinois, and season with salt and pepper.
Pasta: Cook the macaroni for 6–7 minutes, then toss in the fondue.
Plate: Spread the fava bean cream on the bottom, arrange the pasta on top and top with the crispy anchovy bread.
3. Liquid pecorino tortello with broad bean cream and crispy anchovy bread
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- 550 g 00 flour
- 50 g semolina
- 4 eggs + 4 yolks
- 500 ml fresh cream
- 150 g grated Pecorino Romano
- 450 g cleaned broad beans
- 2 slices of semolina bread
- 4 anchovies in oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh mint
- Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Mint oil: Sous vide the oil and mint at 52°C for 40 minutes. Cool, strain, and store in a dark place.
Fava Bean Cream: Blanch the fava beans, setting aside 100 g whole. Blend the remaining beans with oil until smooth.
Filling: Melt the pecorino and cream in a bain-marie, season with pepper, blend, and pour into silicone molds. Freeze.
Fresh pasta: Mix all the ingredients together and let rest for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough thinly and cut out discs using a pastry cutter. Add the frozen filling and close the tortelli.
Crispy bread: Coarsely blend the bread. In a pan, melt the anchovies with oil and garlic, add the bread, and toast for 10 minutes.
Assembly: Cook the tortelli. Sauté the whole fava beans in mint-garlic oil. Arrange the fava bean cream, tortelli, crispy bread, and mint-flavored fava beans on a plate.
Spring on the plate
All these recipes are born from the same approach: valorizing every part of the ingredient, giving new life to what is often discarded, and transforming cooking into a conscious act.
Enjoy your meal (and have a great spring)
