That does sound really tasty!
Thatās so interesting, thanks for sharing!
Iām eating a lot of pulses these days, and just a little meat, currently itās fine for the blood sugar issues I was having with too many potatoes and squash.
So Iāve been coming to the conclusion that favas are my best year-round excellent protein source for my climate. This year I grew common bush beans, pole beans, runner beans and favas. This October has been cold and damp, so Iām struggling to dry out the summer beans even enough to shell. Those pods just staying damp without running a dehumidifier, which is kind of rediculous if I have to depend on one.
But for Favas I can grow them year round. They mature and dry out during my dry season. Thatās like duhā¦ but I struggled with liking them, (so I was in denial for years) I donāt like peeling that extra layerā¦ wasnāt a big fan of the flavor of them cooked after being driedā¦
But now Iāve had some delicious dishes and decided I need to face reality. I have not one, but two bean cookbooks! So all the other beans I can grow for fun and seeds and a few meals, but long term I need to figure out how to have favas in various stages of growth all year long.
So any fava recipes send them my way! I am about to plant a bunch more.
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I eat the shoots of favas (broad beans, here in the UK, or sometimes field beans, though field beans are much smaller) as microgreens over the winter, and the very young whole pods in stir-fry in spring. I find a few of the mature dry ones in stew is just fine but I donāt want a pile of them on a plate.
If you like falafel made with chickpeas (garbanzo beans in the US), or if you like hummus for that matter, it might be worth trying these with fava beans. I strongly dislike chickpeas, but carrot sticks in a broad bean hummus is pretty good.
The one dish I will bother to peel broad beans for is smashed broad beans on toast with feta cheese and olive oil and mint. So tasty!
I have seen them sold roasted as a crunchy snack, but Iām not sure how to make those. Presumably cook them, drain them and let them dry a bit, stir through some oil (and salt and pepper) and put them in a hot oven until theyāre crispy ā the same way as making roasted chickpeas. (I tried to like chickpeas. It didnāt work very well, but I will eat them roasted. I will try again in another few years, but they donāt grow terribly well here anyway.)
You didnāt mention lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus), which might be worth a try too.
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If you have an Arab store or restaurant nearby go try some Ful medames. Its what turned me on to fava beans. Some folks say it dates back to ancient Egypt, but written accounts trace it at least as far back to the fourth century. It makes a very hearty breakfast with fresh warmed flatbreads before heading out to the fields.
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Oooh, this sounds amazing!
Have you tried them immature? Personally I eat them all at immature stage and store in freezer. No need to peel although some might have little tougher skin. I havenāt tried them dried besides what processed stuff you get in stores, but I would think taste is better young. Kinda beanie pea teste. I would think picking them early also gives plants extra energy to grow new pods.
Are garbanzo beans any good in your climate? I believe theyāre a winter crop, so they may do well for you year-round, just like favas. What about lentils and peas? I imagine itās nice to grow lots of pulse species in order to have a variety of flavors.
Heh, you saying you needed to face reality really resonated with me. Thatās how I feel about my unfortunate discovery that Iām probably better off without eating cheese.
@MarkReed I donāt usually pay much attention to nutrient profiles either, because who cares? As long as Iām balancing protein, fat, sugar/starch, and fiber, and Iām eating a lot of different things, the vitamins and minerals will probably be fine. But I seem to be extremely prone to anemia, so iron content is something I think I need to start paying careful attention to.
Iād love to trade seeds with you sometime! And I can totally empathize with losing a lot of crops to herbivores ā our earwig and roly poly populations this year were insanely high. I was planning to focus on green beans and drying beans this year, and I barely got any.
Ha ha, good luck collecting that fur hat. Maybe you can enjoy rabbit stew, too! āYou eat my protein, you become my protein!ā kind of thing. 
Good ideas for all those recipes, thank you! I will try smashed on toast today 
I tried some from Mark Reed, they grew 6" and never made beans, looked like i was torturing them. And that was a warmer year. This year in July it never got above 65F until August, I think Limas want more.
Good idea about the freezer! Because Iām not too good at succession planting of them yet.
I grew them last year and got about as many as I planted, but I tried them as a summer crop. I will try again in the winter, thanks for suggesting. I do like to eat them.
They need more heat than other beans, thatās why they are hard in cooler climate. Would love to try with some cool tolerant material, but itās fairly hard to find even more than couple varieties and all of them are from way futher south.
I lived in Egypt for several years as a teenager. Love fuul medamis. Itās a staple that you find everywhere along with what we call felafel sandwiches. They cook beans all night in copper pots and they dress with a little olive oil. Simple, nutritious and yummy. Goes really nicely with felafel and torshe (sp?) which are pickles made of everything and especially beets. Their pita bread also has more chewiness to it. More like a sourdough than the thin pita we have here.
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Each Middle East country, region or even city has their own Ful recipe. Interestingly, some mix favas with chickpeas, some donāt. Then, the spices - the one from Palestine is full of cumin and fennel, and from the egyptian city of Alexandria it usually contains sesame seed paste.
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Iāve done a āsalt and vinegarā version of this, also splitting them in half for crispiness. They are REALLY good. More in the direction of cashews or something. Plus the colours of a grex adds some elegance.
Preparation is quite slow though, so would need to develop some production line hacks to make it a reasonable sufficiency snack.