For those not familiar with fava beans, 1 cup of beans or pods contains
approx. the equivilent of one 25/100 standard release Sinemet. Several list
members have reported therapeutic results by occasionally including fava
beans into their diet.


UMBRIAN FAVA BEAN STEW (Scafata)

This recipe is about as simple as spring cooking gets (in the U.S. or
Canada). It's adapted from Antonella Santolini's "La Cucina Delle Regioni
D'Italia: Umbria" (Edizioni Mida, 1988). The name comes from the Umbrian
word for the hull of the beans.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup shelled, peeled fava beans (fresh or canned)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves
1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
salt & pepper

Directions:

Cook oil, beans, onion, celery, carrot and chard over low heat in a medium
saucepan. When the beans are quite tender, after about 45 minutes, add
tomatoes and cook another 20 to 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and
pepper.

Yield:

Makes 4 servings. Each serving contains about:

157 calories
124 mg sodium
0 mg cholesterol
7 grams fat
18 grams carbohydrates
6 grams protein
1.47 grams fiber

CREAMED FAVA BEANS AND BACON

Fava beans don't get any richer than this, and they don't get any more
delicious, either. This recipe from Richard Olney's "Simple French Food"
(Atheneum, 1974) is almost compulsively edible. After all, how bad can
bacon, cream and egg yolks be?

Ingredients:

5 pounds young fava beans, in pods
1/4 pound lean bacon strips
1 tablespoon butter
1 branch fresh savory (or pinch finely crumbled dried savory)
About 3 tablespoons water
Salt
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 egg yolks
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon juice
chopped parsley

Directions:

Shell beans and remove skins from all except those pods that are tiny and
bright green. Cut bacon in 1/2 inch sections, parboil for a few seconds to
remove excess salt and drain.

Cook bacon in butter in heavy saucepan over low heat 2 to 3 minutes. Bacon
should remain limp. Add fava beans, savory, just enough water to moisten
lightly and salt to taste. Cover tightly and cook over high heat for a few
minutes. Turn heat to low again so beans stew in own steam rather than
boiling. Cook, shaking pan gently from time to time, until tender, 15 to 20
minutes. Remove from heat and cool 1 minute or so.

Mix cream, egg yolks and pepper to taste and stir gently into fava beans.
Return to low heat, stirring until sauce is only lightly bound, coating
spoon thinly. Sauce should not approach boil. Squeeze in few drops lemon
juice to taste, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Yield:

Makes 4 servings. Each serving contains about:

488 calories
283 mg sodium
267 mg cholesterol
31 grams fat
34 grams carbohydrates
19 grams protein
1.69 gram fiber


FRIED FAVAS

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of fava beans in pods

Split the pods and extract the beans. The beans themselves have a protective
covering which you do not remove for this recipe.

1/4 cup of oil
salt

Directions:

Heat oil to 350 degrees Farenheit. Fry handful of beans at a time, 4 to 5
until beans burst and shells are an attractive shade of brown. Remove from
oil with a slotted spoon. Drain. Salt to taste. Eat like popcorn with or
without the shells. Try them both ways. Delicious!

Yield:

Makes about 1/2 cup fried favas. Each tablespoon contains about:

127 calories
7.7 mg sodium
0 grams cholesterol
4 grams fat
17 grams carbohydrates
7 grams protein
.84 gram fiber

MINESTRONE WITH FAVA BEANS

This may be the perfect early spring soup, thick enough to be satisfying,
fresh enough to entice. It comes from Ed Giobbi's "Pleasures of the Good
Earth"(Alfred Knopf, 1991)

Ingredients:

2 cups shelled fava beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped flatleaf parsley
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped tomatoes
5 cups water
1/4 cup rice
2 cups chopped spinich
Salt

Directions:

Cook fava beans in pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain and rinse
under cold running water. Remove outer skin of beans and discard the skin,
reserving the beans.

Heat olive oil in soup pot over moderate heat. Add onion and celery and
saute until onion begins to brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Add parsley, carrot and
tomatoes and cook, stirring, several minutes. Add water and pealed beans,
cover and cook over low to moderate heat until beans are tender, about 50
minutes. Add rice, cover and cook 10 more minutes. Add spinach, cover ant
cook over low heat until rice is tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Season to
taste with salt and serve hot.

Yield:

Makes 4 to 6 servings. Each serving contains about:

384 calories
126 mg sodium
0 cholesterol
8 grams fat
59 grams carbohydrates
22 grams protein
3.17 grams fiber



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