Fava Bean Pesto

I got more fava beans this week, and since I hadn't used mine from last week yet, and Kendra didn't want her share (as she was in the same predicament) I had A LOT of beans. I found this fantastic fava bean pesto recipe on the Food Network's website. It's from the show "Melting Pot."


I probably had about 1 1/2 pounds of fava beans...possibly 2 pounds. I didn't weigh them, but I can tell you it took a good 30 minutes to shell them all. I followed the prep suggestions on the Full Belly Farm website. They say to quickly boil the beans, pods and all, for 2 to 3 minutes, then submerge in cold water and cool completely. Once cooled, you can peel away the pods and pop the little green beans from their inner shell. It's not hard...just time consuming.

Oh, and all those beans? They only netted 1 cup of beans. One measly little cup. Not much reward for such a task. But the pesto? It was a-tasty. Here's the recipe (I mostly followed it to the tee) with my suggestions in italics.


Fava Bean Pesto
1 cup fava beans, cleaned
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil (a bit too much-maybe only 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoon mint
6 leaves basil
1 teaspoon salt (possibly less)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I used two cloves, and that was plenty)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan (I think this was too much-the pesto was a bit saltier than I liked)
8 slices round Greek bread (I used pugliese instead)
4 ounces manouri, shaved (didn't use)

In a blender, puree all ingredients, except the Parmesan, bread, and manouri, until all ingredients are smooth. The pesto should be thick. Season with salt and black pepper. (It DID NOT need anymore salt and pepper.) Fold in the Parmesan cheese. Brush the bread with olive oil and grill or toast. Spread the pesto on the toast and top with manouri.

At first, we ate it alone on toasted bread, but that proved to be too salty. Next, we topped it with fresh tomato sliced on the bread...that was MUCH better. The tomato cut much of the salt, and added a nice fresh burst to it. Lastly, for a real meal, I spread a thin layer of the pesto on toasted bread, topped it with tomato, then topped that with left over rotisserie chicken covered with melted fresh mozzarella. THAT was great.

The only drawback of this stuff is it makes almost 2 cups of pesto. I'm not sure if I can freeze it or not. I may try it with some pasta later in the week. That should use more of it up than spreading it on toast.

My last suggestion would be don't leave out the mint. You'll be tempted to, like myself, but trust me, it's worth forking over the $2 for a little bunch. The mint was such a lovely little surprise in each bite. The pesto will still be good without it, but I think the mint really sets it apart.