Use this to top grilled or roasted fish, or serve as a side. This would be good mixed into hearty grains or thinned with a little pasta cooking water and used as a sauce on pasta shapes like campanelle or dischi volante. The fava greens are the tips of some of the plants and may include flowers. They have a “green” spring quality to them, and you want to just cook them.
INGREDIENTS:
2 leeks, white and palest green part only, sliced into ¼ inch rounds, soaked in cold water to cover 3 green garlic stalks, white and palest green parts only, halved lengthwise and diagonally sliced into 1/8th x 1 inch strips, rinsed and drained ¾-1 pound fava greens, rinsed ¼ white wine Salt and pepper to taste Olive oil as needed ½ tablespoon minced fresh oregano Zest of half a medium Meyer lemon, shredded with a zester or MicroplaneMETHOD:
Bring a largish pot of water to the boil. Salt well. Place the zest into a strainer and submerge the zest for 15 seconds or until tender but still retaining a lemony smell. Remove and rinse in cold water to arrest the cooking.
Repeat the procedure with the leeks, keeping them in the boiling water until they are just limp. Remove from the water and drain. Do this with the green garlic, cooking until just tender. Drain well.
Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat and film well with olive oil. When hot, add the leeks and garlic and sauté until they are just picking up some color and are tender and fragrant. Add the wine and sauté until reduced 80 percent.
Add the fava greens and toss to combine with the alliums. Cook 30 seconds, tossing all the while.
Season with salt and pepper and scatter the lemon peel and oregano over the lot and toss to combine. As soon as the fava tips are wilted and tender the dish is ready.
If using with pasta, wait until the pasta is done, and reserve 2 cups pasta cooking water before draining. DO NOT add the fava greens yet. Add a couple pats of butter and stir into the alliums, then add the pasta and toss to combine. Turn up the heat to high and add 1 cup of pasta water and add the fava greens and toss. Scatter with the lemon and oregano and toss to mix. If the pasta seems a little dry, add more pasta water and keep the ingredients moving until the water has melded with the butter and the starch in the pasta water to form a sauce. This pasta would be good topped with a young Romano cheese grated over.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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