Asparagus w/Fava Beans

I decided a nice non-meat dish was needed today. After work I went to Central Market to do a little grocery shopping. Right away I decided upon the Asparagus and Fava Beans. I was not sure what I would use them in just then, however I did have a few ideas. Once I got home, an idea popped into my head. This is the result.

Ingredients:
6 Fava Beans
1 lb Asparagus
1/2 stick Butter
Dill
Paprika
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Salt
Fennel Powder
Italian Herb Mix

I began by gathering my ingredients.

My second step was to focus on the Fava Beans first. I began by peeling the bean casings themselves apart and taking out the beans. I also started a pot of water boiling with a dash of salt in it.

Now in go the beans once the water is boiling. Look, pretty.

Get a mixing bowl with some ice in it ready for the beans. They need this right after they are done cooking, which is only a minute or three.

Turn off the heat and strain the beans out into the bowl of ice. You can use ice water if you want, either way it works to cool them off somewhat. Once they are cool enough to the touch, you peel the shells off of the beans. It's pretty easy, just get one end of the casing off and squeeze the bean right on out.

Now turn your attention to the Asparagus. Cut off the base of the stalks. This isn't really needed but I find it solves the issue of having one end overdone and the other just barely cooked.

Start some butter melting in a large saucepan.

Then add the Asparagus.

I dusted with the Ground Black Pepper and Garlic Salt at this point.

Then I mixed it all together and added the Fennel Powder with a smaller dash of Dill. On top of that a nice sprinkling of Paprika.

Mix again. Cook this way for awhile until done. Taste test to make sure, should not be more than 8 minutes. Then serve. I used the Italian Herb Mix as a sprinkle once plated.

Frittata!

Tonight I decided instead of not cooking, that I would cook amazingness. Yes, this recipe is pure amazingness bundled together into an array of edible bliss. I cooked up Frittata. If you have never had this, you are missing out. It is great hot, warm, room temperature, slightly chilled, or cold while you eat inside a walk-in cooler. Go make some. Now. Do it.









Ingredients
10 Eggs
Cheese
Fava Beans
2 Red Potatoes
2 Gold Potatoes
1 Yellow Onion
2 Green Bell Peppers
10-15 Grape Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Butter (I used sun dried tomato butter!)
Italian Herb Mix
Fennel Powder
Ancho Chili Powder
Clove Powder
Ground Black Pepper
Paprika
Sea Salt
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Oregano

Materials
Large Sauce Pot/Deep Saucepan
Small Sauce Pot
Oven

Alright, I included the Materials list because you'll need to have those on hand quite readily. Starting off, grab your materials.

Ok, now we are going to focus on the Fava Beans first. The ones I bought came still inside their bean casings/shells. You can start at the base of the bean, where it was attached to the plant previously, and peel that along the inner(shorter) edge of the bean and it's just like a zipper. Then just pop out the beans. Grab your Small Sauce Pot and boil some salt water. I.e. add some salt to the water, turn the heat to high, and you are good to go.

Once the water boils, toss in the Fava Beans. Let them boil for about 1.5 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and cool the beans down by putting them in an ice bath. I just threw them in a mixing bowl with ice in it, seemed to work pretty well.

Alright, once they cool down you peel the skin off the bean and throw the skin away. Keep the bean, you'll need that in this recipe. Feel free to try one at this point, they are quite tasty by themselves.

While the Fava Beans were boiling, I had my attention on the Potatoes. I used two different kinds for a simple reason; I only have 2 Gold Potatoes left and decided to mix them with the Red Potatoes I had bought the other day. I diced them up pretty small and I'm sure I could have used the food processor but I didn't think of that and since dicing them up by hand was simple, it did not take that long. Watch your fingers.

Important Note: Empty your oven out right now. Turn it on, Bake, 400 degrees F. Back to business.

At this point, dice up your Green Bell Peppers and Yellow Onion. I used some ramekins I had around to store them until they were needed. I also diced up the Fava Beans at this point.

I put my Deep Saucepan on the stovetop and turned the heat to medium. I poured in a good 1/2 cup of Olive Oil and the 1/4 stick of Butter I had into the pan. I then added the Fresh Oregano leaves and Thyme into the mix.

Once the Butter melted and the Olive Oil began to sizzle, I added in the Potatoes.

Let the Potatoes begin to soften up before adding anything else. My first step was the diced Yellow Onion. I did this because I like the Onion to be a more supporting flavor/material in the recipe, while my Bell Peppers stay decently crisp.

Next was the Bell Peppers. I waited until the Onion had started to soften and go translucent.

Followed quickly by the Fava Beans.

Once all of these were in, I made sure to mix them around again. Now I cut the Tomatoes I had in half and tossed them in.

Mix.

Now the spices were added. I literally did not use that much since the flavor of everything else was more than enough. I used about a 1/2 pinch for everything but the Italian Herb Mix. I used like 1.5 pinches. It's good stuff, make sure you have this for anything you cook.

Mix it together. Now get your Eggs and whisk them together with the Whisk I am sure you all have. Or use a fork. Whisk works faster, but everybody has forks. Who knew?

Also, I topped the mix off with some Parmesan/Romano Cheese and a nice topping to that of Shredded Cheddar Cheese. Boom, instant gooey greatness.

Now I would have taken a picture of the pan before going in the oven, but I felt rushed to get it in there and I only have two arms. Here's a picture of my Sous Chef reading up on recipes to try. His name is Sous Chef Pup. Yes, it's cheesy and awesome.

Alright, once you get it in the oven don't forget to take a picture. Like so:

Mmmm...melted Cheese. Let it cook in the oven for about 10 minutes. I used a timer, which I quickly turned off since I was checking it every minute or so anyways. You'll know it's done when the edges of the mixture pull away from the sides of the pan.

I took it out and let it cool for about 5 minutes. I then used a very sharp non-serrated knife to separate the sides of the dish and the sides of the saucepan down to the bottom.

Then I cut it into pieces to serve. Used a spatula to dish out. Enjoy.