Move over Avocado Toast, there’s a new (even better) green toast in town! Fava beans are in season in during the summer and they taste so much better fresh than they do dried. Whenever I can get my hands on them, I made this refreshing green dip that people just go crazy for. Serve this dip with fresh bread or with crudités for a light summer party appetizer!
Servings: 2 cups
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds fresh fava beans (should yield ~2 cups of beans when shelled)
- 6 cups water
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley leaves, whole
- 1/4 cup mint leaves, whole
- 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Directions:
Place the water in a small pot and bring it to a boil.
While the water is coming to a boil, peel and shell the fava beans. Simply pinch and twist the ends of the bean until the bean splits open on the side. Open the whole side of the fava bean and remove the little beans from the pods and she the beans aside. Discard the leftover shell. Repeat for the rest of the beans.
Once the fava beans have been shelled, add them to the pot of boiling water. Let them cook for 5 minutes in the boiling water until the skins become wrinkled. After 5 minutes have elapsed, drain the fava beans and rinse them immediately under cold water to stop the cooking process. Rinse the beans under the cold water until all of the beans are cold to the touch, about 1-2 minutes. You should now see that the skins are wrinkled and the beans should be soft when pressed.
Gently peel the beans from their shells by pinching the skin and squeezing out the bean inside. The beans are fairly slippery so they should pop right out of the shell. Set the beans aside and discard the shells. Continue this process until all the beans have been peeled. Set aside.
Place the garlic, parsley, mint, walnuts, salt and pepper into a food processor. Pulse the ingredients together until they are finely chopped. Add the peeled fava beans along with the lemon juice and pulse to combine. Once combined, drizzle in the olive oil while the food processor is on and blend until the dip is smooth in consistency.
Scoop out the dip from the food processor and place it in a serving bowl. Drizzle the top of the dip with a bit more extra olive oil and garnish with mint leaves.
Enjoy!
Note: This dip can be made a day in advance and kept covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Make sure that the plastic wrap is directly touching the top of the dip to avoid browning or discolouration.
