Fava Bean Salad with Roasted-Garlic Vinaigrette
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Martha Stewart Living, May 2008
- Yield Serves 4
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Ingredients
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
Directions
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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.
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Whisk together the remaining ingredients with 1 tablespoon of the roasted garlic and remaining 2 teaspoons oil.
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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.
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Toss cucumber, onion, parsley, feta, beans, and corn with the vinaigrette.
Cook's Note
Fava beans are best in spring, when they are young and tender.
My husband and I loved this salad! It was super garlicky and delicious! Blogged here: http://bambinosteps.com/2010/06/fava-beans-not-just-for-cannibals/. Thank you for the recipe!
This salad definitely takes time to make but I made it early and it was fine. I would recommend making more than you need and saving some for the next day. All the ingredients were tasty together.
I didn't realize how much work is involved with cooking the fresh fava beans with the double shucking. Was is worth it? Yes. I used organic fava beans and wow, what a difference. In my version, I left out the red wine vinegar. I wanted the flavor of the beans to stand out especially after all that shucking. To add some punch to the flavor I added some seasoning salt. The feta, roasted garlic, and parsley are good enough flavoring in my opinion.
I used the lazy way...frozen baby lima beans instead of favas, frozen corn, and Garlic Expressions salad dressing. Hey, I was in a rush. That given, the salad was delicious! My 10 year old son devoured two helpings. I'm sure it willl be even better when I use fresh veggies.