Fava Beans and Duck Eggs

I love all beans, I have to admit, and eaten in moderation they are a great source of protein, fiber and energy. And we are in fava bean season, one of my favorites. You can buy them all year round dried, but I love them fresh, and we are in the time of year when they are available. They are delicious, very nutritious and full of vitamins, such as B6, B1, riboflavin and niacin. Fava beans are also rich in minerals essential to a balanced nutrition like iron, copper, manganese, calcium and magnesium, very high in potassium as well. Not only they are nutrient rich, they are also loaded with phyto-nutrients, known for their effect as antioxiants, and L-dopa, a precursor of dopamine, one of the “feel good” chemicals in the brain.

They are a delicious way of keeping a healthy body.

I love sautéed fava beans, and here is my favorite recipe

Sautéed Fava Beans with poached duck eggs –serves 2

Ingredients

2 lb of fava beans in the pod

Or 3 hand-fulls of dried fava beans

½ medium onion-chopped in small cubes

4 cloves of garlc-chopped

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp of parsley-chopped

2 duck eggs

½ cup of water

salt to taste

Preparation

Wash and peal fava beans, although if they are young you can cook them with husk. I like to eat them in the pod, so I cut them in bite size pieces; the younger beans have a light, very nutritious skin. If the beans are dried, you may want to soak them for 6 to 8 hours prior to removing the bean’s outer skin.

Boil the beans until tender. The time will vary from 10 minutes for fresh young beans to up to 2 hours for older dried favas.

While the beans boil, place the oil in a skillet and brown the garlic and onion.

Once they are tender enough, drain the beans and add them to the skillet, sauté for 10minutes in low heat.

Turn the heat to medium-high and add the water, let them simmer until the water turns thicker, about 10 minutes with the lid on. Make sure there is still enough liquid to poach the eggs, you can always add more if the water evaporates too fast. Add parsley right before you poach the eggs

With the heat still high, crack the eggs on top of the beans, and work the whites with a fork so the get in between the beans, to help the eggs settle. Cook to desired temperature with a lid on top of the skillet. This will aid to thoroughly cook the eggs.

Add salt to taste.

It is ready to serve!