purè di fave e bietola / fava (or broad) bean and chard purée

This dish was created with the help of Ms Serendipity, that nice companion of many adventures in the kitchen (and elsewhere). It all started at the farmers' market, the day after I got back from a week of vacation, earlier this month. I saw fave fresche (fresh fava beans) and bought a pound. I got the beans out of their pods and blanched them briefly, plunged them in ice cold water, let them cool for a few minutes, then removed the outer layer.

From my market tote bag out came a nice leek (porro), and I decided to marry it to the fave. I cooked the thinly sliced leek in a frying pan with olive oil and the leaves of two sprigs of thyme (timo) until quite soft, about 10 minutes. I put a lid on and added some water, as needed, to keep the leek moist. I then added the blanched fave and warmed them up for a couple of minutes. After seasoning with salt and freshly-ground black pepper, I put the content of the pan in the food processor and started the machine. The consistency of the resulting mash was not to my liking, so I started thinking, and that is where Ms Serendipity came into the picture.

From the already-mentioned tote bag out came a bunch of bietola (also called bieta, chard). I have never seen rainbow chard in Italy (literally, bietola "arcobaleno"), i.e., chard whose stalks are of a color other than white. I usually buy rainbow chard, because I like the colorful stalks. I washed the chard leaves (about 3/4 lb) and let some water cling to them, then cut away the stalks (which I used to make another dish: more on this in a future post). I sliced the leaves into ribbons (no more than one inch wide), then wilted them for a few minutes in a covered pan. Finally, I added the chard to the food processor and started the machine again.

This time, I liked what I saw and tasted. Dinner time was fast approaching, so I decided I would let my guests give me feedback on the dish. The feedback was positive and, as a result, I have made this purée a couple of more times. Here's how I served it:

• as is, as a side dish
• as a filling for a frittatina (thin one-egg frittata) that I garnished with crumbled fresh chèvre (caprino)
• as sauce for gnocchi di ricotta.

I am sure I will find additional ways to enjoy this dark green, highly nutritious dish.

This is my submission for My Legume Love Affair - Eleventh Helping, the popular, legume-centered event that is the brainchild of Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook and is hosted this month by Lori Lyn of Taste with the Eyes.

Here is the roundup. Check also who is hosting the next edition of the event.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post: 

purè di fave e bietola

or launch the purè di fave e bietola  audio file [mp3].

 

Comments

[Laura]

YUMMY! Domani raccogliero' delle fave e mi hai inspirato!

[mia]

oooh wa! talk about creativity!sounds green-great!Though I must admit,already after u mixed the leek,thyme and fava beans,I was ready to eat..as I had the aroma going and the taste right in my mouth! :)

[astrofiammante]

ciao Simona, che tempo fa da quelle parti....l'estate fa capolino? ma che belle alternative d'uso hai creato con la crema.....la frittatina con il caprino mi stuzzica molto....
P.S.ho letto con il traduttore...che spara veramente delle traduzioni tragicomiche...traduco meglio io con quel poco che so ;-)))

[Ivonne]

Simona,

Che bello! E' tanto difficile trovare le fave fresche qui a Toronto!

[Simona Carini]

Cara Laura, fave fresche dal proprio giardino sono imbattibili. Devo provare a seminarne un po' e vedere che cosa succede.

Ciao Mia. I think I'll go back to that initial combination and just leave it at that, without involving the food processor, with the fava beans left whole. I have a partiality for leeks and thyme and the fava beans go well with them.

Ciao Astro. Qui vicino fanno un caprino molto buono, quindi io lo uso spesso. Ho fatto una frittatina, ci ho messo un paio di cucchiai di purè di fave e bietola e poi l'ho avvolta come un cannolo e sopra ci ho messo del caprino sbriciolato. Devo rifarla cosi' posso fare una foto. Guarda che mi fa piacere mandarti la traduzione delle ricette che ti interessano: basta che me lo fai sapere. La scorsa settimana ha piovuto, ma ora il tempo e' estivo: nebbia al mattino e poi sole, col vento che tiene il cielo bello pulito.

Ciao Ivonne. Veramente, sai che anche qui fino a qualche anno fa le fave non erano molto diffuse, ma adesso per fortuna le trovo e sono contenta.

[Ivy]

Fresh fava is something I have never tried before because we used to hear bad things about cyanosis when we were younger, so I never cooked them before. I have seen so many recipes lately that I am tempted to try them.

[astrofiammante]

grazie, tesorissima...ne approffitterò allora, bacio!

[Simona Carini]

Hi Ivy. I wonder if what you heard has to do with favism. It is a genetic disease and people affected by it must avoid fava beans.

Certamente, Astro.

[Lori Lynn @ Taste With The Eyes]

Gee Simona - that sounds delicious. Great addition to MLLA. Thanks!
I think I would really like it with that frittatina with chevre.
LL

[Simona Carini]

You are welcome, Lori Lynn. I must make that frittatina again and blog about it properly.