Name: Fave e Finocchio (Fava Beans and Fennel)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: ⅔ cup finely chopped wild fennel or finely chopped fennel tops and ¼ to ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed; ¼ to ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed; 3 whole garlic cloves, flattened; 1½ tablespoons finely minced pancetta or salt pork; 3 tablespoons finely minced flat-leaf parsley; 4 to 6 tablespoons dry white wine, broth, or water; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 2 pounds fresh fava beans; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

In Nonna's Kitchen

By Carol Field

Published 1997

About

One way to know that it’s spring in the region of Apulia is seeing women in black dresses sitting at their front doors with their backs decorously to the street as they shell favas from their pods. This dish is usually prepared in the springtime when the fave have just appeared in the garden and their skins are so tender that they don’t need to be peeled.