Fava Bean Salad - Weekend Herb Blogging

The broad bean, fava bean, faba bean, horse bean, field bean, tic bean is a species of bean native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere. Broad beans have a long tradition of cultivation in Old World agriculture, being among the most ancient plants in cultivation and also among the easiest to grow. It is believed that along with lentils, peas, and chickpeas, they became part of the eastern Mediterranean diet in around 6000 BC or earlier. They are still often grown as a cover crop to prevent erosion because they can over-winter and because as a legume, they fix nitrogen in the soil. In much of the Anglophone world, the name broad bean is used for the large-seeded cultivars grown for human food, while horse bean and field bean refer to cultivars with smaller, harder seeds (more like the wild species) used for animal feed, though their stronger flavour is preferred in some human food recipes, such as falafel. The term fava bean (from the Italian fava, meaning "broad bean") is its most common name in the United States, with broad bean being the most common name in the UK.

Broad beans are eaten while still young and tender, enabling harvesting to begin as early as the middle of spring for plants started under glass or over-wintered in a protected location, but even the maincrop sown in early spring will be ready from mid to late summer. Horse beans, left to mature fully, are usually harvested in the late autumn.


The beans can be fried, causing the skin to split open, and then salted and/or spiced to produce a savory crunchy snack. These are popular in China, Peru (habas saladas), Mexico (habas con chile) and in Thailand (where their name means "open-mouth nut").
In the Sichuan cuisine of China, broad beans are combined with soybeans and chili peppers to produce a spicy fermented bean paste called doubanjiang. If you are interested to know more follow the link. (source:wikipedia)

I would like to share this fava bean salad with you and submit it to the WHB created by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen this time hosted by Astrid from Paulchen's Food Blog.


Ingredients:
fava beans
Jamón serrano
1 onion
2 red radish
3 tablesoons sherry vinegar
2 tablespoon dry sherry
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 pinch of sugar
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
white pepper
fleur de sel
5 tablespoon grape seed oil
2 tablespoon milk

Bring water to boil and cook beans for 1-2 minutes, then peel them. Chop onion and radish. Whisk sherry vinegar, sherry, mustard, sugar, pepper, salt, oil and milk together to a dressing. Stir in chopped veggies. Top the beans with the dressing, decorate with the serrano ham and pecorino.