Spring Fava with Fresh Peas
The Greek recipe Fava is one of the all-time classic Greek meze plates, most often made with yellow split peas cooked until they disintegrate into a puree then swirled to creamy perfection with extra virgin Greek olive oil and lemon juice. It’s a Mediterranean diet standard bearer! There are a few regional fava recipes, for green split pea puree (Lesvos), and broad bean puree, called koukofava in Greek, from Crete. Here’s a contemporary idea that calls for using fresh or frozen peas. It is one of the dips that works well as a sandwich spread or spooned over bruschetta and it pairs beautifully with shrimp or grilled or fried seafood.
RATING
CUPS
3
PREP TIME
5 min
COOK TIME
5 min
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh or frozen shelled peas
- ½ cup ouzo or 1 star anise
- ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
- ½ to 2/3 cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil
- Fresh strained juice of 1 lemon, or more, as desired
- Greek sea salt or Kosher salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garnish:
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives or red onion
- 1 scant teaspoon pink peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons crumbled feta (optional)
Instructions
-
Place the peas inside a medium saucepan filled with enough water to cover and the ouzo or star anise. Cover, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 3 minutes for fresh peas, 3 to 5 minutes for frozen.
-
Drain and discard the star anise, if using.
-
Transfer the hot peas to the bowl of a food processor. Add the parsley and tarragon. Pulse on and off while adding enough of the olive oil and lemon juice in alternating increments to achieve a smooth, silky puree.
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Transfer the fava to a serving dish and garnish with either chives or chopped red onion, pink peppercorns, and feta, if using.
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Notes
Do not salt the water when boiling peas because doing so toughens them up.
