My celebration of spring continues this week with two of my favorite seasonal ingredients: peas and fava beans. Though it’s a bit predictable, I can’t resist the pairing of peas, favas, and mint for it’s fresh, green taste. It just screams spring! Here I’ve simmered the peas and favas until tender (you can use frozen if fresh are not available), then mash them with some garlic confit and mint. There’s no dairy so the dish is totally vegan and parve, not to mention gluten free. It’s light and healthy, but packed with flavor. I like the texture of the roughly mashed vegetables, but you could blend them thoroughly for a bright springtime puree.
This vegan side dish goes well with just about anything. Serve it with tofu or cauliflower steaks to keep it vegetarian, or spoon it alongside chicken, poached salmon and asparagus with garlic two ways (as I did for this article), or any fish or seafood. It would be great with grilled foods, and can be served at just about any temperature so is a great contender for a potluck or barbecue.
- 2 cups shelled favas (from about 2 pounds whole pods)
- 2 cups shelled peas (from about 1½ pounds whole pods, depending on variety)
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh mint
- 2 cloves garlic confit (optional)
- 2 tablespoons garlic oil (from garlic confit; optional - substitute olive oil)
- Salt
- Bring a large pot of water to a simmer. Add the fava beans and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the peas and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Drain and rinse under cold water to maintain their color. Once cool enough to handle, sift through and slip off the skins from the fava beans (the white outsides of the shelled beans are edible but I find the texture gets in the way of this dish).
- Put the fava beans, peas, mint, garlic confit, and oil in a large bowl and roughly mash.
- Season with salt and serve or set aside (it's great warm, at room temperature, and even cold).
Substitute frozen favas and/or peas if fresh is not available. Defrost first by running under cool water or add a few minutes to the cooking time.
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I always wondered what fava beans were, and thanks to your pictures I now know! I love them, but as a Brit I call them broad beans. I’m pretty sure I have some broad bean recipes to link up, as long as you accept the English translation 😉
Ha yes – thanks for reminding me that they’re also called broad beans!
Thanks so much for hosting!! Your pea mash looks fantastic, reminds me of mushy peas from Ireland.
You’re so right, Katherine! Your peas and fava beans do scream spring! We just love peas so much and they are so sweet right now! Thanks for hosting again, I brought one of my favorite pasta with peas recipes!
Happy Spring!
Roz
Really nice dish! I almost never cook with fava beans for some reason – I don’t know why. Perhaps because they’re not in stores for that long of a period, and there are always other ingredients competing for my attention. But this dish looks lovely, and I should make it. Thanks so much.
I love broad beans [or favas], I rarely eat podded peas [the pods are faves!] – but find the recipe very doable as all kinds of garlic paste or oil are always available here and mint grows almost wild around this place! Thanks so much for an attractive variant 🙂 !
What a perfect celebration of spring!