| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 2 pounds shelled fava beans
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 pound bacon, cut into lardons, optional (but I highly recommend it)
- 1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 2 ribs celery, cut onto 1/2-inch dice
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, 2 smashed, 1 reserved whole
- 1 large Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 4 to 5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 to 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- High quality extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over medium heat and set up a bowl of well-salted ice water. Add the shelled fava beans to the boiling water. Once the water has come back to a boil, cook the beans for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them from the boiling water and immediately put them into the bowl of salted ice water. Once the beans have cooled completely, strain them from the ice water. Peel the tough, light green outer layer from the beans. You will be left with a delicate, lovely vibrantly green tender fava bean. MMMMMM! Reserve these little lovelies.
- Coat a large saucepan over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil. Add the bacon (if using, if not just start with the onions and celery) and once the bacon has started to become brown and crispy and is very aromatic, add the diced onions and celery. Season with salt, to taste, and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook the onions and celery until they become translucent and are very aromatic. Add the smashed garlic cloves and the diced potato, stir to coat with the oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 2/3 of the reserved fava beans and 4 cups stock. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if needed. Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- When the potatoes are tender enough to slide easily off a fork when cooked, puree the soup in a blender* until smooth. You probably will have to do this in batches. Return the soup to the pot, and add the remaining fava beans. If the soup is too thick, add some the remaining stock to adjust the consistency. Taste the soup to check the seasoning and reseason, if needed.
- Ladle the soup into serving dishes, give them a little sprinkle of grated Parmesan and a drizzle of big fat finishing oil.
- Fava beany-weany delicious!
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 347 |
| Total Fat | 18 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 36 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 10 g |
| Sugar | 14 g |
| Protein | 16 g |
| Cholesterol | 15 mg |
| Sodium | 816 mg |
Reviews
Was wondering the same thing about this reserved clove of garlic. It is not mentioned anywhere in the preparation steps.
Could I use canned favas? Not in my supermarkets here…far drive to where I think they may be…
Simple yet delicioso. Exchange the Yukon for a yam. And stop befoe adding parm and ego. Use dried faves too, extra yummy! Was looking for a way to use up extra purée sitting in fridge.
Pretty amazing, although the fava beans make it less kid friendly than some other pureed soups. I actually cooked extra bacon and used it as a garnish. That made it perfect. 🙂
Loved this soup. I added a half cup of whipping cream just before serving. I was wondering what you are supposed to do with the reserved garlic that is asked for in the recipe, but then not utilized. Anyone have an idea?
Crazy, genius Anne Burell, u are my idol! And the recipe for the crostata u gave with this one.. Super rockstar chef in my house. Thank you for your inspirations. I changed the swiss chard for watercress in the crostata and it was genius. I never though I was going to like the kitchen until u came along.. Cooking is now my passion..
This soup was the bomb! I used Lima beans instead of fava like some others said they did because they didn’t have them at my grocery store. Even my picky husband loved it who usually doesn’t even like soup. Thanks Anne for another hit.
Un. Bee. LEEEEEAVBLE!!!!!
This was absolutely fantastic. The bacon is a MUST, and I added more than a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes because I would eat them for breakfast if I could. I’d never had fava beans before, so I had no idea what to expect; Anne, you blew my socks off. I used a high-quality, locally produced olive oil to finish, and it was PERFECT.
Great recipe!
Very delicious. I followed recipe exactly. Now, I’m to off to serve it with cornbread – yummy!