Broad (Fava) Beans Salad in Two Ways; in olive oil and garlic yoghurt

Broad beans with peppers, spring onion, dill in olive oil sauce

Broad beans with poached egg and garlic yoghurt

Broad Beans (Fava Beans) with bell peppers, olive oil, dill and lemon juice – Fava Salatasi

Here are two delicious ideas to enjoy broad beans, and I am sure the taste will be at least doubled if you can get the fresh ones. Combination of dill, lemon juice and olive oil is a favorite way of flavoring broad beans at home. Hope you can get to try sometime.

Broad beans are a great source of protein and carbohydrates, as well as vitamins A, B1 and B2. In the US, they’re known as fava beans. This delicious and easy salad would be a great appetizer or light lunch served with crusty bread and perhaps with some olives.

Serves 2  Preparation time: 20 minutes

175gr/6oz tender broad beans (in water) or even better, fresh broad beans

2 spring (green) onions, finely chopped

1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon 10ml/2 teaspoon fresh dill, coarsely chopped

15ml/1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

5ml/1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

If using tender broad beans in water, empty the contents in a colander. Put the broad beans in a pan with fresh water and simmer gently for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the water and set the broad beans aside.

If using fresh broad beans, they should be podded, unless they are very young and tender. Put the beans in a pan, cover with boiling water, return to the boil and cook for about 10 – 15 minutes. Then drain, empty into cold water, slit each pod along its seam and run your thumb along the furry inside to push the beans out.

In a serving bowl, combine the broad beans with the rest of the ingredients except the balsamic vinegar and mix well. Make sure to season well with salt and pepper and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over.

Serve with some crusty or pita bread; green and black kalamata olives go well with this salad.

Afiyet Olsun!

Tender Broad Beans with Garlic and Yoghurt Sauce and Poached Eggs – Cilbir Yumurta ve Sarimsak Yogurtlu Fava Salatasi

This is another exciting way of enjoying broad (fava) beans, which I recently experimented. It is quite common to serve poached egg with garlic yoghurt at home and this combination has gone really well with the broad beans. This dish would make a lovely lunch with some pita bread or a delicious meze (appetizer).

Serves 2   Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

175gr/6oz tender broad beans (in water) or even better, fresh broad beans

10ml/2teaspoons fresh dill, coarsely chopped

5ml/1teaspoon red pepper flakes

10ml/2teaspoons juice of lemon

15ml/1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 free range eggs

30ml/2tablespoons white wine vinegar

For garlic yoghurt:

2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

90ml/6 tablespoons plain natural yoghurt

Salt and pepper to taste

Sprigs of dill and red pepper flakes to decorate

If using tender broad beans in water, empty the contents in a colander. Put the broad beans in a pan with fresh water and simmer gently for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the water and set the broad beans aside.

If using fresh broad beans, they should be podded, unless they are very young and tender. Put the beans in a pan, cover with boiling water, return to the boil and cook for about 10 – 15 minutes. Then drain, empty into cold water, slit each pod along its seam and run your thumb along the furry inside to push the beans out.

In a bowl, combine the broad beans with dill, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and olive oil. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, mix well. Divide the salad into two individual serving plates.

In a small bowl, beat the yoghurt with garlic and seasoning. Spoon this into two serving plates and spread over the broad beans mixture.

Fill a small pan with water, add the vinegar (this will help sealing the egg whites) and bring to a boil. Stir the water to create a whirlpool and crack in the first egg.

As the egg spins and the white sets around the yolk, stir the water ready for the next one. Poach each egg for 2-3 minutes so that the yolk remains soft.

Lift the eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon and place them over the garlic yoghurt spread.

Sprinkle red pepper flakes over and a few sprigs of dill. Serve immediately with some nice bread to mop up the salad’s delicious juices.

Afiyet Olsun, Ozlem