fava beans and peas / fave e piselli

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green on green with a touch of orange
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the historical novel The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson. I borrowed the book by accepting a suggestion within the Libby app. I was intrigued by the long title and wanted to know what it was about. I soon found myself drawn to the story, which is set in the UK in the summer of 1919, post-WWI, during the Spanish flu pandemic. It is a challenging time for veterans re-entering civilian life, for women forced to abandon the jobs many held during the war and for the country overall.

The protagonist, Constance Haverhill, has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. There, she meets a kind refugee waiter, a group of women motorcyclists and a (physically and emotionally) wounded veteran. The elderly woman Constance is tasked to take care of turns out to be a more interesting character than expected. 

I enjoyed Simonson's style and treatment of characters so much that after finishing the novel, I borrowed her earlier ones: "The Summer Before the War" (where again the war in question is WWI) and "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand," probably her most famous book.

While the Hazelbourne novel is not food-oriented, it includes a number of references to foods. I was inspired by "tiny spring peas" included in a restaurant meal in chapter 2: 

There were celery stalks on a long glass dish served with small silver tongs. There were dishes of small green olives, and a plate of the ubiquitous tinned sardines rolled around tiny white onions and stuck through with a cocktail pick. A broth followed, slightly cloudy. Then an indeterminate course of oeufs mayonnaise. Finally, the main course: Mrs. Wirrall had ordered Dover sole for the ladies and the pie for Harris. She had commanded, and was delivered, buttered new potatoes, a dish of tiny spring peas, and a carrot mash. There was even a small wedge of lemon in a muslin cloth, which the waiter squeezed over their fish with a silver tool.

“I haven’t seen a lemon since before the war,” said Constance. There were one or two frowns from ladies at neighboring tables, which indicated that not all patrons had been honored with such an intoxicating spritz.

As we move towards late spring, the farmers' market is filling with colorful fruit (hello cherries!) and a wider variety of vegetables, including fava beans and peas, both favorite of mine, fresh spring onion (cipollotto) and garlic (aglio — hurrah for no more storage allium!). 

in season and fresh from the farmers market
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

I decided to add a carrot (carota) to the green on green motif and was happy with the result. The small size of the dish reflects the fact that I made it for myself only: you can easily multiply the recipe. Both peas and fava beans require shelling. The latter are much tastier if you remove also the skin (trust me on this).

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Fava beans and peas

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces / 85 grams shelled fresh fava beans
• 1 ounce / 30 grams shelled fresh peas
• 1 1/2 ounces / 42 grams red spring onion
• 1 ounce / 30 grams carrot (1 medium or 2 small)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon Harissa spice mix
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml warm water
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Shell the fava beans and weigh the necessary amount. Blanch the fava beans for 30 seconds, then drain them and plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking.

Slit the skin with your thumbnail then pinch or twist to slip the bright green core out of its coat and into a small bowl. (You don't need to peel tiny fava beans, whose skin is quite thin.) Set aside.

Shell the peas, weigh the necessary amount and set aside.

Finely chop the spring onion.

Scrub the carrot well and scrape the surface to remove a thin layer of skin, then grate it using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.

Peel and mince the garlic clove.

Heat up the olive oil in an 8-inch/20-cm cast-iron skillet, then add the onion and stir well to coat. Sprinkle the Harissa spice mix and stir. Cook on medium-low heat for 2 minutes, stirring a few times. 

Add the grated carrot and stir. Cover and cook on low until the onion is soft, 6 minutes or so, stirring often.

Add the garlic, stir and let cook for one minute.

Add the peas and warm water, cover and cook for 4 minutes.

Add the fava beans and stir. Cover and cook until the peas are tender, 2 minutes or so.

Sprinkle the sea salt and stir. Remove from the heat, sprinkle the parsley, stir and serve.

Serves 1

I like to serve half the amount the recipe makes with an egg sunny-side up on top and a side of mixed vegetables with thyme²

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¹ The book's page on the publisher's website
² From briciole's archive: Mixed vegetables with thyme

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

fave e piselli

or launch the fave e piselli [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems]

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This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

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FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

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fava beans, peas, onion

Comments

[Wendy Klik]

I love that the book inspired you to look to your roots and this fresh vegetable dish is making my mouth water.

[Debra Eliotseats]

I always love to see what inspires you. That photo of the split pea pods and onion is so beautiful! Thanks for hosting!

[Marg @ The Intrepid Reader]

Love that this book inspired you to make something from your roots.!

And I agree, that photo of the split pea pods and onion is very beautiful

Thanks again for hosting

[Claudia]

Your meal presentations are always so beautifully done Simona. I've been able to grow some beans here, mostly the Christmas Lima beans which produce prolifically here. They are so lovely when you shell them, never knowing the colors that will turn up.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Wendy :)

Thank you, Debra :)

Thank you, Marg :)

Christmas Lima beans are lovely indeed, Claudia :)

[Joan Griffin]

So pleased to discover your book-food blog! I love both. And your photos are gorgeous.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you so much, Joan :)