I posted about fava beans before. Prepping them is a little labor intensive but they are so, so good, and this salad, pinned from Whole Living, is just dynamite—bright, fresh and full of spring. I made it last night with Bouchons au Thon and roasted potatoes and there wasn't a scrap left.
I used my own vinaigrette instead of the garlicky dressing shown below, although it does sound delicious. I had no feta cheese. I had crumbled goat cheese but I'm the only one who likes it, so it ended up being cheese-less.
Fava Bean Salad (with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette)
For the vinaigrette:
- 1 head garlic, 1/2 inch cut off top to reveal cloves
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup (2 ounces) walnuts, toasted and chopped
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
For the salad:
- 1 pound shucked fresh fava beans (from 3 pounds pods; 3 1/2 cups)
- 2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears of corn)
- 1 medium cucumber, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Make the vinaigrette: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle garlic with 1 teaspoon oil. Wrap in parchment, then in foil. Bake until soft, about 30 minutes. Squeeze garlic from skins. Mash until smooth.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients with 1 tablespoon of the roasted garlic and remaining 2 teaspoons oil.
Make the salad: Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook beans in a large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beans to ice-water bath. Let cool completely, and remove with the slotted spoon. Cook corn in same pot for 1 minute, and drain in a colander. Peel thin shells off beans.
Toss cucumber, onion, parsley, feta, beans, and corn with the vinaigrette.
Serve.
With a nice chiaaaaaaanti.
