fava beans?

[maple_mama]

My husband picked up a small bag of dried fava beans, and I'm not sure how to make them. I did soak them overnight, and popped them out of their skins a few minutes ago. I'm having trouble finding a basic recipe for them, and am not even sure how long to cook them. (One thing I read said 10-15 minutes, something else said 1-2 hours....big difference). Does anyone know? Got a good idea what to do with them? (I'd like to keep them whole, not mashed in a dip or in a soup.) Thanks!

[Gingercat]

I originally come from a small island in the Med sea (not exactly a Greek one though) and there we eat a lot of fava beans in the form of a salad as a main dish. But usually we eat them in the summer when fresh purslane is abundant. Purslane is really delicious with fava beans, but if you cannot get any in the winter you can use any kind of a lettuce. We also add sliced green peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes. Oh and dried onion and crushed garlic. You can dress this salad with lots of red-wine vinegar, olive oil and sea salt.

As for the cooking time, it really depends how "fresh" they are. If they are fresh and you soak them overnight then 15 min should be fine.

[LuminosaJane]

Dried favas won't keep their texture when cooked like fresh. I would recommend a puree. I didn't believe myself not too long ago and tried to saute some cooked favas with garlic and they fell apart into dry clumps. Puree is the way to go--I should have followed the rec of the farmer who sold me these beans!

[BedHead]

My favorite way to eat fava beans is in falafels

ETA - I use a recipe that calls only for soaking them before they're pureed, not cooking them. It's really really yummy.