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How to cook Fava beans
May 20, 2009
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26 Comments
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How to cook Fava beans from ChefInYou.com
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When I posted about the delicious dip called Bissara, quite a lot of you mailed me with the query of how I prepare fava beans. After replying to 3-4 mails, I thought why not make it easier on everyone by making a post about it. Per chance I also happened to have pictures during the process of cooking fava beans previously so I simply consolidated them into this post.
Many think of the lengthy and laborious effort for cooking and preparing fava beans and avoid them, but once you know the process and do it once, you will never think of going past the aisle without buying them. And I have not even come to the part of how deliciously nutty and nutritious these are. So lets get set to the process of Cooking the Fava beans.
Here are some recipes with Fava Beans: Israeli Couscous Primavera, Bissara (Fava bean Dip), Egyptian Falafel, Jambalaya
How to buy Fava Beans?
Fava beans have an outer pods which are approximately 8 -9 inches long. The fresh ones have a bright green color and are firm to touch. Dont buy the soft or wrinkled/shrunken ones. The outer skin is inedible(duh!)
How to shell Fava Beans?
Snap the end of the Fava bean, near the string side. Give it a light pull. The string will peel down till the end.
Once the string has been removed, you will see the pod parting in the middle and you will see the beans inside.
Usually a healthy pod can contain anywhere between 4-8 beans inside and they will be enclosed in a spongy layer. They come out v easily.
Wait, wait – its not done yet. See the outer smooth covering..well its still not edible. You have to remove it.
To do it, there are two ways – either you can parboil them or if you are bent on retaining the nutrition of this bean like me, then you would steam them. It takes almost less than a minute to make it little shriveled like this above pic.
Now put pressure at the end of the bean, yes shell them once again and you will find the waxy outer cover come out easily. Below is a picture with the completely shelled ones on the left and steamed (to be shelled) ones on the right.
Pull then out and now prepare this in variety of dishes, be it for soup, casseroles, dips,salads or stews. Though its quite a painstaking process, its all worth it 
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I guess that if I had to tear the covering open myself instead of just pressing on the end, they probably weren’t done yet…oops! But they were still tasty paired with oven fried chicken and half a large russet. Thanks for the walkthrough!
i just harvested about 14-15 lbs of favas and have been searching for additional recipes. i have never removed the outer layer. we eat them steamed with a little olive oil, champagne vinegar (helps with the bitter), purple onion and salt and pepper. yum.
i am wondering if anyoe knows why when you steam them the water turns brown and has a dark setiment left in the pan. i know they are high in nitrogen when growing but can’t find any info on the phenemenon.
help!
Quite a few have told me that they dont remove the outer layer. I dunno why, mine does not seem to be edible without removing that layer. I think its cos I dont use the fresh ones from the garden. May be something to do with mature ones in the shop. Until now I have not faced the issue with the water discoloring but i remember someone telling me that using stainless, earthenware, or enameled cookware for boiling helps to prevent the beans from turning dark…May be that might help? –DK
We have fave beans in our garden, planted by a previous gardener. We have heard that the “baby” beans can simply be sauteed without any prep work. Do you recommend this? Other than just knowing that the beans are new on the plant, how can we identify baby beans from full grown ones that must be prepared? Do you have a favorite “complete baby fave bean” recipe? Many thanks! ps: this page is AWESOME. Thank you for the photos – so informative. Cheers!
I havent been personally able to get my hands on those tender fresh beans myself. But I have heard from many readers that such beans can be cooked without any prep work and not removing their outer skin does not give it a bitter taste..Once I get some fresh ones, I will surely try out some recipes and update you on a fav one
–DK
I soaked for 24 hours then simmered the beans 30 min and ate the whole bean and shell. It was delicious and easy to chew. Why shell them a second time???
Hey, did you do that for the fresh beans? I was not aware of soaking the fresh beans for 24 hours though I have done it for dried beans which I soak overnight and cook. For the fresh one, that waxy layer has to be removed since it gives a bitter taste to the beans.
–DK
I BOUGHT SOME FAVA BEANS AT A WHOLE FOOD STORE AND THEY ARE DARK GRAY IN COLOR WITH SHELL-LIKE COVER. HOW DO I PREPARE??? THANX NORMA
If you mean the dry beans, then to prepare them – Soak them in water overnight. Peel off skins after soaking. Simmer 1 cup beans in 4 cups of water for about 2-3 hours (if on stove top). The pressure cooker takes only about 20-25 minutes. It has an immensely creamy texture. It is also known as broad beans. You can use it in soups, marinated in salads or pureed into pate with rosemary, olive oil, garlic, lemon, and fresh herbs. Hope this helps –DK
Wow…. What a great help. Haven’t had these since childhood. Wonderful step by step and fabulous pictures. Thank you
Hi
Just found your site on Faba beans, great site by the way. We have Faba beans growing in the garden. What is one of your easier reciepes for the use of them. Thanks and much appreciated
Kyra
Hi Kyra, thank you for leaving me such a generous comment. My fav and easiest one would be Bissara – Fava Bean Dip – link here: http://chefinyou.com/2009/05/bissara-fava-bean-dip/ Hope this helps
I’ve made curries without doing the last step when the fava beans are either VERY fresh or one the small side. They came out quite tasty.
They probably would have been better with it removed — but it made preparation much faster. Me and my honey enjoyed them quite well.
But yes, yours is the “beat” way. But those who are making a simple meal for family, may decide to see if a short cut for foods cooked a while works for them
I agree with what you say. Have never tried your method. Will give it a try
thanks for the tip.
beautiful pictures dhivi..
Thank you so much for posting this! I never knew that steaming or boiling would help to remove that little layer…I’ve been stupidly struggling with it for years. Thanks for the how-to!
That is a very useful pos Dhiv!
Fresh fava looks so beautiful! My mom makes excellent curries with it. I still didn’t master them!
beautiful pics!
Very informative, thank you!
But now how do I get past the Hannibal the Cannibal (in “Silence of the Lambs”) association?
I seriously have never even considered fava beans b/c of that moment in the movie. Gives me shivers…
But they do look yummy, and now I know what to do with them, so maybe it’s time to get over it!
LOL! Just make sure you dont make a side with fava beans when you are eating your fav liver recipes! Chicken/beef I mean
loved those step-by-step detailed pictures!!
Thanks for the guide! I remember my mom making this when I was a child and thinking to myself how much I hated them LOL But things have changed and I will give them another try
Nice post with lovely pics….
Very helpful post……
Nice post. I grew up eating lots of these, lightly salted and roasted as snacks. But I find them to be too salty anyway. What a great idea to get them fresh then roast them myself. Cheers!
hi DK,
informative and useful post, yup yup it’s a painsataking process …..truly worth all the effort!though
mmm, thats a cool post… nice pictures very depicting tooo
If you had posted this a week earlier, I wouldn’t have bought those beans last weekend
hehe made you make that super duper delicious salad dint I – awe comeon sig, otherwise how could you think of depriving us of that salad..I m making them the minute I buy fava beans next time
very useful… love the step-by-step pictures
Such a very useful post!! excellent DK!