RECIPE: Fresh Fava Bean Soup

Adapted from Jack Bishop's Vegetables Every Day

Pretend that there is a picture of a big red bowl filled with a pretty light green colored soup. I was too tired and forgetful to take a picture last night.

Assemble:

3 lbs fresh fava beans
4 cups vegetable broth
2 TB olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped

If you are going to make your own stock, now would be the time to start. Shuck favas. Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. When ready, add favas to water. Boil 3 minutes. Drain beans and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel favas. (If you are making your own stock, it will probably be done by now.)

In a soup pot, saute onion until soft. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Pour stock into pot and add favas. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until favas are tender, about 7 minutes.

Puree soup in batches in the blender. Be careful, the soup is hot and if you fill the blender more than half full, you might have a hot soup explosion all over your kitchen and yourself. I have learned this the hard way many times over. Return soup to the pot and reheat gently. Taste for salt and pepper.

This soup is good with some parmesan grated on top. I suspect that a little lemon zest, chopped parsley or basil would also be tasty.