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Recipe Detail Page
Rapini with Fava Beans
Autumn 2007
Treat the rapini as you would pasta, twirling the leaves around your fork with some of the fava-bean purée. Fava beans absorb a lot of liquid so be sure to reserve some of the cooking liquid to bring it back to a smooth and creamy texture. You can make this with canned beans but the taste is not as good as with dried. I have also made it with pea beans which gives it a different texture, heavier than the fava beans but tastes equally good.
Serves 4
1 cup (250 mL) dried fava or broad beans
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme
½ cup (125 mL) peeled and diced Yukon gold potatoes
½ cup (125 mL) chopped onions
½ cup (125 mL) chopped celery
¼ cup (50 mL) extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Rapini
1 bunch rapini, trimmed
2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) chopped garlic
½ tsp (2 mL) chili flakes
Garnish
2 tbsp (25 mL) extra virgin olive oil
1. Soak beans overnight in cold water to cover. Drain and rinse.
2. Place beans in a pot and cover with water by about 2-inches (5-cm). Add bay leaves and thyme sprigs and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until beans are nearly tender.
3. Add potatoes, onions, celery and 2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil and continue to cook until potatoes and beans are very soft, about 15 minutes longer. Drain, reserving cooking liquid, and discard bay leaves and thyme.
4. Mash beans and potatoes by hand, or purée in a food processor, leaving a little texture. You may need to add a little cooking liquid.
5. Heat remaining 2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add purée and cook until purée is hot and holds its shape. If it is too dry, add some cooking water. It should have the texture of very creamy mashed potatoes. Season well with salt and pepper.
6. While fava beans are cooking, bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add rapini and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well, season with salt and pepper.
7. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add rapini and garlic and sauté for 1 minute or until garlic is softened. Add chili flakes and sauté for another minute or until rapini is hot and well flavoured. Reseason if needed.
8. Place purée on a plate, scatter over greens and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Serves 4
