fava beans with onion, garlic, tomatoes and linguica

these are so beautiful, I have a larger image linked to the picture.

I mentioned pop's harvested the first of the fava beans this week, and I got a grocery bag full right out of the field. There are as many different ways to fix these as there are cooks. my recipe is a compilation of many attempts, and i like to think they are as good as any you will find at anyone's table.

ingredients:

• 1 to 2 quarts shelled fava beans
• 1 10 ounce tub of sweet grape tomatoes, or 1 10 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes. i used the fresh only because they were sitting on the counter, and would have gone bad soon. improvisation is the key to discovery!
• 1/2 white onion, diced or chopped small
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 sticks (one package) linguica sausage. or any sausage you happen to like or have on hand. Chorizo, andouli, or even kielbasa would work, but for my money, go with the lingo.

how:
step 1: boil the beans. why? because they won't cook in enough time to not burn everything else in the pan, that's why. but there's another reason. this is a bit anal of me, but i boil the beans until the skins puff up like this:
then i drain and let them cool until i can handle them without burning my fingers. make sure you don't over boil. watch until the skins start poofing, then pull them off of the heat. if you don't, you'll end up with mashed rather than sauted beans.
while the beans are coming to a boil, get your other stuff ready for the pan. chop up the sausage, and start browning it
and get your other ingredients
chopped up and ready.
when the beans are cool (cheat a little and run cold water over them), rip off the end of the skin, and squeeze out the bean. Try not to mush them.
when the lingo is going good, add the onion, garlic and tomatoes. saute until the onion starts to turn translucent. .
notice the tomatoes are still whole. that's ok, because here's where i play fast and loose with cooking techniques. after the onions show it's been long enough, take a potato masher, and squish the tomatoes. great fun, but a little messy. here's what it looks like just before throwing in the beans
now toss in the beans, and saute until done, about 7 to 8 minutes, less if you got carried away with the boiling step. this is what it will look like just before pulling it off the stove, and eating

tips:
now, why did i peel the beans? if you don't they are tough, and a little bitter.

what do you drink with this meal? water. lots of it. or beer. forget the wine for this meal. this is peasant food.

don't salt or pepper during prep. let the diner season to taste, because the sausage usually has enough seasonings already, and you could overdo it.

no oil was used, if you notice. if you use a fatty enough sausage, like lingo, then you won't need any oil. just keep adding ingredients to the pan. that's why you brown the sausage first. you might need to add a little water after adding the onions, garlic, and tomatoes. do so sparingly, but keep in mind the tomatoes will only cook where heat is applied. if you rely only on the liquids generated in the pan, the tomatoes will not cook until the mashing step, and then it's probably going to be too late, since you're not going to have this on the fire for much longer. if you use canned tomatoes, you won't have to add any additional liquids.

enjoy.

hmm, linguica worked well. i wonder how it would do with a little liver, and a fine bottle of Chianti?

for a complete list of my online recipes, follow the link here