Smashed Fava Beans, Pecorino, and Mint on Toast

Recipe sent in by CSA member Maura Gilmartin.

Source: Six Seasons, A New Way With Vegetables, Joshua McFadden with Martha Holmberg

Serves 4 as an appetizer or light lunch

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 pounds fava beans in their pods

• 2 stalks green garlic or scallions, trimmed (including 1/2 inch off the green tops), roughly chopped

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese 

• About 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• Four 1/2-inch-thick slices country bread (I used regular sliced bread)

DIRECTIONS

• Shell, blanch, and peel the fava beans

• Put the green garlic and a pinch of salt into a food processor and pulse a few times.  Add half the mint leaves and pulse a few more times so the garlic is fairly fine.  Add the peeled favas and 2 tablespoons olive oil and pulse again. Your goal is to mash up the favas but not completely puree them.  You may need to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl between pulses.

• Scrape the mixture into a bowl, season with some pepper and stir in 1/4 cup grated pecorino and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt, pepper, or lemon juice, and adjust the consistency with olive oil so that it is loose and luscious. 

• Brush the bread on one side with olive oil and grill or broil until crisp.  Arrange on plates, top with the fava mixture and the rest of the mint leaves (torn if they're big), and finish with a nice shower of grated pecorino and another drizzle of oil. 

Also pictured: cucumber and radish salad (also from the CSA).  It's just a sliced cucumber salad tossed in rice wine vinegar and soy sauce, topped with some radish.

Quick refrigerator pickles

This is a super quick way to make delicious pickles - the perfect way to use up those cucumbers that are slightly tough skinned. You can add any flavouring to these - simply add to the bottom of the jar before adding the cucumbers. I used Dill, garlic and some peppercorns. These only need 24 hours in the fridge before they are good to go. Don't forget to sterilise the glass jars you are using before you make the pickles. Place them in a 350˚f oven for 15 mins, and allow to cool before using.

This recipe is just a guide - you can adjust the amount of pickling liquid depending on how many cucumbers you have. It is easy to quickly whip up another batch if needed!

---

Quick Refrigerator Pickles
- Makes 3-4 jars, depending on jar size -

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes

Pickles
1 Clove garlic per jar
5-6 peppercorns per jar
a few sprigs of fresh dill per jar
3-4 cucumbers, washed and cut into spears (trim to fit the size of your jar if necessary)

Pickling liquid
3 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups white vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar (increase this if you like your pickles sweet)
1 Tbsp salt

PROCESS

Place the garlic, peppercorns and dill in the bottom of your jars. Add the cucumber spears - you want them to be fairly packed in. 

In a large saucepan, combine the water, white vinegar, sugar and salt over medium heat. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes. 

Carefully pour the hot pickling liquid over the cucumbers, leaving about a 1/2 inch of space at the top. Place a lid on the jar, seal tightly, and allow the jars to cool to room temperature. Once cool, transfer to the fridge. Store in the fridge for at least 24 hours before using.