[Sca-cooks] Unexpected bounty has me in a quandry--Help....

[phoenissa at netscape.net]

Sue Clemenger <mooncat at in-tch.com> wrote:

>Hmm....that does sound good.  I wonder if it'd work with dried figs--we
>can't get the fresh ones here (well, at least, I've never seen them).
>--Maire

Have you tried farmers' markets or specialty food stores?  (I don't know where you live, so I can't offer much advice beyond that :-)  Dried ones would probably work ok...I'd guess Platina had fresh ones in mind, since figs and fava beans are available during the same season, but hey, do the best you can with what's available :-)
Also, it depends a bit on your beans.  Fresh fava beans are best when very young, rather small and tender; the ones I'm seeing in the markets this time of year are larger and a bit tougher.  Dried figs may complement them better, and will certainly stand up to a longer cooking time than fresh ones.  They may also do better with heavier spicing.  (I have to admit, I kind of cheated when I made this dish last week - I used frozen favas.  But they were still delicious!)
And one last thing that many people often forget about: once you take the beans out of their pods, you'll notice that they're covered in a light green skin.  This, especially in older/larger beans, is not particularly pleasant to eat.  It won't do anything bad to you, it's just not especially appetizing.  It's fairly easy to remove, though, and then you just cook the bean itself (a shade darker green than the skin).

And really, the beans don't even have to be cooked!  I like them straight out of the pod (peeled as bove), kind of like you'd eat fresh peas...but maybe that's an acquired taste? ;)  In any case, experiment a bit and have fun!

Vittoria

PS Speaking of experiments, the candied chestnut one failed miserably.  I think I overboiled the syrup, 'cause when I put it in the jar with the nuts it settled into a solid mass.  Candy thermometer is definitely on my shopping list...but at least I have enough cognac to try it again sometime :-)


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