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Shop the Greenmarket and Then Use This Recipe From a Chef

By Serena Solomon | April 15, 2014 7:21am
 Fava beans are in season and at the city's green markets from spring through to July.
Fava Beans
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FORT GREENE — Fava beans, broad beans, bell beans — whatever you want to call them, after a long winter they are now in season.

The creamy but slightly bitter bean is ripe from spring through July and is making its way into green markets around the city now.

Farm-to-table restaurant Prospect on Fulton Street in Fort Greene is featuring fava beans in a multi-texture dish and they have shared the recipe with DNAinfo New York.

"You bite and chew and every bite is going to change until you finish the dish," said Prospect's chef Nathan Hansen, 31, of the dish that combines pureed and whole fava beans topped with Serrano ham and fresh mint.

"Let the fava bean do most of the talking and just season it properly," said Hansen of the simple recipe that leans on a light dusting of salt and pepper for added flavor.

Ingredients for two servings

2 cups fava beans shucked of shells
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tsp. preserved lemon or lemon zest
2 tbsp. of olive oil
2 tsp. of honey or sugar
1/4 lb. Serrano ham
A few sprigs of fresh mint
Salt, pepper and olive oil to taste

Instructions
Blanch fava bean pods in salted, but not salty, boiling water. The beans are done in about 90 seconds, Hansen said.

Shuck the beans of their shells into iced water in order to bring them down to room temperature.

Lightly season half of the fava beans with salt, pepper and olive oil and put to the side.

Add vegetable stock and sugar or honey to the remaining fava beans and puree in a high speed blender until smooth. While mixing in blender, slowly add about 2 tbsp. olive oil to give a creamy texture.

Add salt and pepper to the puree to taste.

Arrange a few spoonfuls of puree on a plate and top with whole fava beans, Serrano ham and fresh mint.

Use leftover puree as a condiment or sandwich spread.