Question
Carol S Johnson
I can't seem to cook Fava Beans (small or large) correctly. I soak them in their shells. I've cooked them in and out of the shells. They cook either with some beans remaining too firm or they burst practically into mush. How do I cook these beans?
Answer
I love to use fresh fava beans, which is great because you can just cook them for a couple of minutes, and they're done. But quite often, we're not able to find them, so we're having to find them dried. The key to this is letting them soak. Soak them overnight. Go through them all before you soak them, I guess, look for any stones, and try to get equal-sized is probably the best tip I can give you. If you can find fairly decent sized, they're going to cook evenly, which is really nice. So, soak them overnight. I like to remove the skins after soaking them as well too, which is a tedious process, but it's worth it in the end. And then after basically an entire night of soaking and then me taking off all the skins off of them, I'll drain off all the water and all the skins, put them into a big pot of water, and bring to a boil, and then simmer for about an hour and a half, which is kind of a long time for a bean, but that's what it works for. And that's basically what I have to do. If you want to do them a little more tender or a little more al dente, don't cook them as long. But that's basically the technique for it, and usually the inconsistency is coming from different sizes, so they're going to cook longer or shorter. Also, try to get them from the same source if you can. And if you're getting a good quality bean, they should cook pretty well on those. But it can be a crapshoot sometimes, Carol. So, that's a little bit of experimentation, but those are probably my best tips for you.
