Don’t Fear the Fava

By Chef Kurt Chausse and Liz Chausse

On a recent beautiful summer day, it was our extreme pleasure to visit the Felton Farmers Market. So easy to find and well laid out with room for physical distancing and everyone wearing a mask. What a grand setting with sunshine and redwoods for all!! 

So many prepared food vendors at this market. We saw ice cream, coffee and pastry, Columbian food, Indian food, rotisserie chicken with fingerling potatoes, and Tibetan dumplings. There was so much to choose from. We LOVED the Tibetan dumplings! Next time…ice cream!!

We were impressed with the beautiful early summer bounty bursting with blueberries, crisp green salad blends, crunchy broccoli and cauliflower, shell peas, mustard greens, kale, fava beans, and all the usual suspects like carrots and onions and garlic, just to name a few. So pristine and colorful, it really gets the creative juices flowing.  

Some of our favorite flavors and textures this time of year are from the stone fruits; the cherries were a’poppin this week! Coming from exotic destinations like Modesto, Sanger, and Merced county, according to the sides of the delivery trucks! Cherries are in full production right now and are well represented at the Felton market, as well as several roadside stands on the way there. You can enjoy them fresh from the bag and spit the pits; pit them and add to vanilla ice cream or yogurt; or bake them into a fabulous pie or coffee cake. Another way to love them is with savory foods, like a cherry glaze on game meats or duck. Invest in a cherry pitter and teach your kids how to pit, keeping them busy and lightening your load. Other stone fruits that we love include pluots and plums. The varieties, colors, and textures lend themselves well to being sliced and eaten fresh, tossed into salads, and making jams and preserves.

What really piqued our interest this week was the unfairly maligned FAVA BEAN! It’s reputation was all but destroyed by that awful Hannibal Lecter, but we’re here to tell you, don’t fear the fava. It really is a highly underutilized broad bean that grows well around here and is sometimes used as a cover crop. A larger bean with a hearty bite, it can be used in soups, salads, and side dishes. This week’s recipe is a tasty sautéed side dish that could easily be a main dish. We gathered fava beans, garlic, onion, and mustard greens right from the farmers market. 

Fava Beans with Mustard Greens and Bacon

3 C fava beans, shelled, blanched, and hulled

4-5 strips bacon, thick cut, diced

2 small red onions, sliced thin

4 cloves garlic, smashed

3 C mustard greens, shredded

2 C chicken stock

2 lemons

2 tbsp butter

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauté pan, render bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside. Add onion and garlic to the bacon grease and sauté 3-5 minutes. Add greens and wilt, then add beans and stock. Bring to a boil and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer. Swirl in butter and juice of 2 lemons.  Season with salt and pepper. When plating, top with crispy bacon and French-fried onions if you have them. We had some, so we tossed them on and YUM! We enjoyed our sautéed beans with fresh Monterey Bay sole and a little lemon butter sauce.