Creamy Alfredo Fava Bean Recipe

Fava beans are big, bright green legumes that have long been popular almost everywhere in the world except for North America. Before discovery of the new world, fava beans were some of the only legumes readily available to most Europeans.

Though delicious, fava beans do take some work to prepare. You must shuck the shell and boil the beans. Then you have to pop each bean from its waxy covering, one by one. If you have the time and patience, though, the taste can be worth the work.

Creamy Fava Bean Alfredo Recipe
Ingredients You Will Need:
2 pounds dry fava beans
1 cup creamy Alfredo pasta sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Shuck the shells from the fava beans. Bring four quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Drop the shucked beans into the water, and cook until tender. This takes about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain water from beans. Rinse beans with cold water, and drain again. Pop each bean from its waxy coating, and place the beans in a medium saucepan. Discard the waxy coatings.

Pour Alfredo sauce over beans, and place saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently. Once sauce is warm, remove saucepan from heat and serve over pasta. Salt and pepper to taste.

Tossed Peppers, Fava Beans and Monterey Jack Recipe
Ingredients You Will Need:
1 pounds fava beans
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic paste
½ teaspoon parsley flakes
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup diced red bell peppers
½ cup diced green bell peppers
½ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

Shuck the shells from the fava beans. Bring four quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Drop the shucked beans into the water and cook until tender. This takes about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain water from beans. Rinse beans with cold water, and drain again. Pop each bean from its waxy coating, and place the beans in a medium bowl. Discard the waxy coatings.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. As soon as the butter is liquid, stir in garlic, parsley, rosemary, paprika, cumin, pepper and salt. Bring butter to a simmer. Carefully add the fava beans, red peppers and green peppers to butter. Sauté the mixture for three minutes, or until peppers begin to brown at the edges, stirring frequently. Remove skillet from heat, and stir in shredded Monterey jack cheese. Let cheese melt, and serve.