Fava Bean And Bacon Risotto Recipes

FAVA BEAN AND BACON RISOTTO

Steps:

• Cook the fava beans in a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and plunge into ice-cold water to cool. Peel away and discard the outer shells and set the beans aside.
• Heat the butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the onion and bacon and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the rice and beans and continue to cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes.
• Add enough hot stock to cover the rice and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until most of the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way until it is almost completely absorbed and rice is tender.
• Remove from the heat, stir in the grated Parmesan, and season to taste. Serve immediately, garnished with Parmesan shavings.

FAVA BEANS, HERBS, BACON, AND ITS FAT

Steps:

• Cook the fava beans in a deep pan of lightly salted boiling water. They should be tender in four or five minutes. Cool them under running water, popping the bright green beans from their pale skins with your finger and thumb and dropping them into a bowl as you go. If the beans are really small and young, I sometimes leave the skins on.
• Finely slice the green onions and drop them into a bowl. Chop enough dill to give you a couple of heaping tablespoons. Pull a loose handful of mint leaves from their stems and add them to the onions with the dill and white wine vinegar. Crumble in a little salt and some coarse black pepper, then stir in enough olive oil to make a slushy dressing. I find 5 to 6 tablespoons (80 to 90ml) are enough.
• Lay the bacon in a nonstick frying pan with the merest drop of olive oil and let it fry until the fat is golden and verging on the crisp. Fold the skinned beans into the herb dressing and divide between two plates. Put a couple of slices of bacon on each, tipping any hot fat in the pan over the beans.

FRESH FAVA BEAN AND SHRIMP RISOTTO

Steps:

• Prepare the fava beans, and set aside.
• Shell the shrimp and de-vein if necessary. Retain the shells. Salt the shrimp lightly, and set aside in a bowl (in the refrigerator, if you won't be making and serving the risotto right away). Rinse the shells, and combine them with five cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, skim off foam, reduce the heat to low and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes. Strain and add to the chicken stock or water. Taste and add enough salt to make a well-seasoned broth. Bring to a simmer in a saucepan.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large nonstick frying pan or a large, wide saucepan. Add the onion (or leek). Cook, stirring, until it softens, three to five minutes. Add the rice and the garlic. Cook, stirring, until the grains of rice are separate and beginning to crackle.
• Stir in the wine, and cook, stirring, over medium heat. The wine should bubble but not too quickly. When it has just about evaporated, stir in a ladleful or two of the simmering stock, just enough to cover the rice. The stock should bubble slowly. Cook, stirring often, until it is almost absorbed. Add another couple of ladles of the stock. Continue to cook for 20 minutes, stirring not too fast and not too slowly, and adding more stock whenever the rice is almost dry.
• Taste a bit of the rice. It should be slightly al dente. Stir in more stock to cover, and add the favas and the shrimp. Cook, stirring, for another five to 10 minutes until the shrimp are pink and cooked through but still moist (this will depend on the size of the shrimp) and the favas are bright. Stir in the parsley and another small ladle of stock. Remove from the heat, add pepper, stir for a few seconds and serve.

RISOTTO WITH ASPARAGUS, FRESH FAVA BEANS AND SAFFRON

Steps:

• Prepare the fava beans. Shell them while you bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Drop the beans into the water, and boil small favas for one minute, large favas for two minutes. Transfer at once to a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain. Remove the skins, using your thumbnail to open up the skin at the spot where the bean attached to the pod, then gently squeezing out the bean.
• Pour the stock or broth into a saucepan, and bring it to a boil. Add the asparagus, and blanch for three minutes. Remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon or skimmer, refresh in a bowl of cold water, drain and set aside. Turn down the heat under the stock, and keep at a simmer with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that it is well seasoned.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy skillet or saucepan, and add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until tender, about three minutes. Add the garlic and the rice. Cook, stirring, until the grains of rice are separate and beginning to crackle, about one to two minutes. Rub the saffron between your thumb and fingers, and stir into the rice.
• Add the wine, and stir over medium heat until it has been absorbed by the rice. Begin adding the simmering stock, two ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice and should be bubbling, not too slowly nor too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid is almost absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock, and continue to cook in this fashion - adding more stock when the rice is almost dry, then stirring - for 15 minutes. Then stir in the asparagus and the fava beans and another ladleful or two of stock. Continue adding stock and stirring the rice for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked al dente and the vegetables are tender. Add more stock to the rice, and stir in the Parmesan, pepper and chives. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust salt. The rice should be creamy. Stir once and serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than lumping in a mound.