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Overhead plate of sauteed fava beans with torn mint and shaved pecorino romano curls, drizzled with olive oil on a linen cloth

Fave e Pecorino: Blanched Spring Fava Beans

Fresh fava beans blanched briefly, then tossed warm with young pecorino, mint, lemon and olive oil for a quick Roman spring dish.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Antipasto
Cuisine: Italian (Roman)
Calories: 320
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 kg fresh fava beans, in pod / 3.3 lb; yields about 300 g peeled beans
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
  • 2 spring onions (scallions) thinly sliced
  • 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
  • 150 g young pecorino romano shaved or cubed
  • fresh mint leaves small handful; torn
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • flaky sea salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste; freshly cracked

Method
 

  1. Shell the fava beans from their pods. You should end up with about 400 g of beans.
  2. Bring a 3-quart / 2.8L saucepan of well-salted water to a boil. Blanch the beans for 2 minutes, until the skins loosen and split slightly.
  3. Drain and plunge the beans into a bowl of ice water for 1 minute to stop the cooking and set the color.
  4. Once cool, pinch open each skin and pop out the bright green bean inside. Discard the skins. You should have about 300 g peeled beans. Skip this step if your beans are small and young, the skins will be tender enough to eat.
  5. Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch / 26cm skillet over medium heat. Add the spring onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, until soft but not browned.
  6. Add the peeled fava beans to the skillet and toss for 2 to 3 minutes, until warmed through and tender but still bright green.
  7. Remove from the heat. Squeeze in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, tossing to coat.
  8. Transfer to a platter, scatter the shaved pecorino and torn mint over the top, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  • Peel fava beans after blanching once they're cool enough to handle
  • Don't skip the ice bath, it keeps the beans bright green
  • Add pecorino and mint off heat so the cheese doesn't melt into the pan
  • Use the freshest pecorino you can find, it makes the biggest difference here