Fennel, Fava Beans and Egg Salad with Tomato Basil Vinaigrette

Posted on | May 17, 2009 | 33 Comments |

We had one of those Seattle weekends, the perfect kind that makes us forget all about the lousy weather we’ve been having for the past few months. Unlike last weekend, this time I did way too much stuff that I am already looking forward to the next weekend to sleep this one off! In between all the fun I managed to go to Pike Place Market to grab some of the fresh summer bounty. I love going to Pike Place on weekends, especially on beautiful sunny weekends. Every single tourist that passes through Seattle has Pike Place Market on top of their itinerary and I love walking around the market watching the awestruck tourists trying to photograph every mundane detail. It’s the best way to spend a Saturday, at the end of it all that fun, you are somehow done with a major chore too. Yep, shopping is a major chore for me, if it doesn’t involve clothes or shoes.

Fava Beans Basil Heirloom Tomato Fennel

I have been seeing fresh fava beans showing up everywhere in the food blog world lately, so that was the first thing I picked up. It is a lot of work to shell those suckers. Fava beans have to be shelled twice, first the outer pod and then then the tough white membrane that is covering the beans. Here is a step-by-step pictorial on how to shell Fava beans. After all that effort I wanted to make sure that I use them wisely, I didn’t want to over spice or over cook those, which I could’ve done with frozen pre-shelled beans without going through all this trouble. So I decided to make a salad, by throwing some fresh ingredients together. Fresh fennel is one of my favorite salad ingredients, it adds a tinge of unique spiciness and bite to otherwise boring salads. I had picked up a few Heirloom tomatoes and some fresh Basil to make my favorite Ensalada de Caprese, some of which came in handy for the dressing – a chunky Tomato Basil Vinaigrette. Along with some boiled eggs, this made a refreshing lunch perfect for a hot Sunday. Cooking sure is a breeze when you have a fridge full of fresh bounty!

Fennel, Fava Beans and Egg Salad with Tomato Basil Vinaigrette

Spring Salad

(All measures are guesstimates, vary according to taste)

Ingredients

1 lb fresh fava beans in the pod
1/2 a fennel bulb
3 eggs, boiled and sliced.
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Tomato Basil Vinaigrette

1/4 cup diced tomatoes
2 tbsp basil leaves, torn
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method

To make the vinaigrette, combine the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk well till creamy. Combined with the tomatoes and basil and let rest in the refrigerator till the rest of the ingredients are ready.

Remove the fava beans from the outer pod. Place enough water to cover the beans in a pan, add a generous portion of salt and bring to a boil. Add the beans and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the beans from the water and plunge in an ice water bowl to stop the cooking. Now remove the tough outer layer from the beans. ( Here is a step-by-step pictorial on how to shell Fava beans.)

Cut the leaves and stalks off from the fennel bulb, cut off the base and remove the tough outer layer (Save these for braises and stews). Cut the bulb in half, wash well to remove any dirt. Slice the bulb length wise to form thin strips.

Place the fennel and fava beans in a bowl and pour the tomato-basil vinaigrette over. Toss gently to combine, serve the salad topped with sliced eggs.

Category: Eggs, Fava Beans, Fennel, Soups and Salads, Tomato

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Comments

33 Responses to “Fennel, Fava Beans and Egg Salad with Tomato Basil Vinaigrette”

Nags
May 17th, 2009 @ 8:22 pm
Reply

Even I have been seeing a lot of fava beans around lately, I mean in the blogs! Haven’t seen them in the normal stores in Singapore, may have to search a bit.

PS: Those sliced eggs look so pretty
arundati
May 17th, 2009 @ 8:29 pm
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looks fab… i love it when an interesting salad quickly doubles up as a meal…
Happy Cook
May 17th, 2009 @ 10:34 pm
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Beautiful and delicious too.
I have never tried this beans, i think i am lazy to peel them.
Love the vinegerette too.
You don’t like food shhoppin, ilove going to food markets.
Arch
May 18th, 2009 @ 12:53 am
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This looks wonderful…the green colour is awesome !! lovely combination – must try this…
Shreya
May 18th, 2009 @ 3:13 am
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The pics are wonderful! Amazing combination and ingredients, the yellow yolk and the green beans..lovely salad meal:-)
Soma
May 18th, 2009 @ 3:56 am
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That is one delicious salad! I have been wanting to get the fava beans… its time i should now. The fennel sounds really good..

I loved the buzz of the Pike Market:-D we had spent quite sometime just walking around there.
Parita
May 18th, 2009 @ 4:29 am
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Thats a grt combination..looks lovely..love the colors
sunita
May 18th, 2009 @ 4:32 am
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I love shopping for food

The salad looks lovely.

Hopeyou have a great start to the week:-)
Laavanya
May 18th, 2009 @ 5:59 am
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For me it’s the other way around… shopping for food is always more fun than shopping for clothes!

I’ve had some of those weekends too after which I just want to rest.
sra
May 18th, 2009 @ 6:10 am
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I have the most ordinary, but very sincere things to say about this post: Great pix, yummy food.
Bong Mom
May 18th, 2009 @ 6:17 am
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The eggs look delicious Sig, very pretty pic

I have been to Pike Place Market, but was not a blogger then. Loved it. I liked downtown Seattle a lot actually and thankfully it didn’t rain while we were there
rachel
May 18th, 2009 @ 7:04 am
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Very very appetizing
Mamatha
May 18th, 2009 @ 9:13 am
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Such a pretty salad. And here I am eating salad from the cafeteria that has pale green ice-berg lettuce and little else

Pike Market Place was on top of my must-see list when I visited the city many years ago. And I was one of those awstruck tourists taking pictures of the fish-stalls and such. Seattle is definitely one of the most picturesque cities in the US.
Raaga
May 18th, 2009 @ 9:21 am
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I can never get my egg slices to look that cute!

this is a yummy salad.
DK
May 18th, 2009 @ 11:25 am
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Shelling fava is sure a pain, but isnt the result worth it?

And also I feel that steaming those pods make the outer waxy membrane pop up faster..I dint have that much trouble. Its the first step of removing the pod that gets to me sometimes…Anyways I do them while watching TV…so takes off the boredom

Salad looks yummo.
elra
May 18th, 2009 @ 5:40 pm
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OMG, I love fresh Fava beans, sometime if they are young enough, I cook the whole thing and serve it with yogurt garlic sauce. This salad look so scrumptious. Love the fennel in the there too. I must say I can’t live without fennel bulb in my fridge, even if its not in season, I always have it.
Peter
May 19th, 2009 @ 6:15 am
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Visit my new page!
A&N
May 19th, 2009 @ 7:40 am
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Love the yellow eggs pic!

I’m going to bookmark this for a weekend lunch sometime!
rina
May 19th, 2009 @ 10:48 am
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Hmmm!!! this looks like one yummy creative salad sig..love the fresh bounty colors..
Cham
May 19th, 2009 @ 3:04 pm
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Last time i brought some fresh peas and chickpeas, my son helped me to shell out those peas:) Not an easy task
The salad is simply to relish!
SuperChef
May 19th, 2009 @ 4:42 pm
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have been meaning to get hold of some fava beans after seeing them everywhere. This salad is such a great idea!
lisaiscooking
May 19th, 2009 @ 5:27 pm
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Your salad looks delicious! The favas and fennel sound fantastic with the vinaigrette, and the egg on top looks great.
Nirmala
May 19th, 2009 @ 10:43 pm
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Egg salad looks inviting Sig! U must be having those fancy egg slicers! these were perfect slices of taste! The tomato dressing must have really added a kick to the otherwise plain boiled eggs. Haven’t tasted fennel and fava beans.
Ramya's Mane Adige
May 20th, 2009 @ 3:10 pm
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hey Sig! how r ya? looong time the salad looks delicious!!!! I usually dislike salads, but if its this pretty, I wouldn’t mind some
Juliana
May 20th, 2009 @ 3:27 pm
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Wow, this salad looks fantastic…the colors are so tempting…fennel and fresh fava bean, yum yum. Great pictures. By the way, thank you for visiting my site.
Lena Rashmin Raj
May 20th, 2009 @ 9:56 pm
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wow..highly creative.. i just love eggs..that egg salad is looking delicious..bt i dont think i can take a snap like this..befor my hus takes camera, i will finish those eggs

visit my page..
Miri
May 21st, 2009 @ 12:38 am
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Fava beans look like they are worth all that trouble of shelling! The egg salad looks fab!
sharmi
May 21st, 2009 @ 2:54 pm
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Lovely presentation Sig!
BTW did you design this template or did you take any available online template. The design is good !!! Do you use any development tools?
- sig
  May 25th, 2009 @ 2:11 pm
  Reply
  
  Hi Sharmi, I used a couple of existing templates as the starting point and customized most of it. I don’t use any special development tools, just notepad/visual studio.
alice
May 23rd, 2009 @ 10:59 pm
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Seems like everyone is cooking with fava beans and rhubarb like mad all over food blogger land. I like this simplicity of this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Divya Vikram
May 24th, 2009 @ 6:18 pm
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Lovely fresh salad!
lori
May 29th, 2010 @ 4:44 pm
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I made this salad tonight because my CSA had given me Fava beans andI still had some fennel left over from last weeks CSA. I had just purchased some fresh basil. Oh boy this salad was great. even though the favas were a bit of a task! we had two hard boiled per person and my son made biscuits. We were full. The australian shiraz didn’t hurt things a bit…..
Steve | Healthy Lunch
February 11th, 2012 @ 6:31 am
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just by looking at this salad is making me hungry. This will definitely taste good on weekends while you are fishing, and that is exactly what I am going to do this week. Is there anything else we can add according to your expertise.