It is my duty to be honest with you about food. I can't brag about my successes, day after day. I make mistakes.I want you to know about this mistake, because the other day I bragged about oiled, roasted fava beans in the pod.
They came out tender, even without that pesky second skin-peeling. I guess it was the effect of the oil, and the roasting (without H2O). Really nice. I saved some for an impromptu minestrone a day or two later.
Well. (Jack Benny face, hand on chin.) The beans ended up tough. It was like chewing through miniature rubber swim caps. Not pleasant.
And I suspect it was due to the action of the hot water (vegetable broth, actually). Fava skins go all cooked-latex in hot liquid.
The soup itself was really nice, though. I have to tell you that we found a container of pea-pod/cilantro broth in the freezer, dated 2008! It was still simply wonderful.
And I really liked dicing a juicy, ripe heirloom tomato and tossing that in; more pleasant in the mouth than spurts of old tomato sauce. That's a keeper.
The beans? We're going to continue roasting them; got a new sack of favas in the fridge now. But I will not let them get into hot water.
Posts
15 comments:
I love miniature rubber swim caps!
Is that another Weinergate joke?
Admit nothing...deny everything. Hey it works for politicos.I just got some Jack Benny glasses.
Like you, I gotta 'fess up when what I make isn't perfect. Good practice, plus it adds to one's credibility in the long run.
I know, add the (pre-roasted) beans last, like a garnish or something!
Moonbeam: Hello, you old lurker. Happy to see you.
Zoomie: No! You must look up Whitey Bulger.
Greg: I was hoping somebody, anybody, would know who Jack Benny was. Gratuities!
Zooms: It's all about hubris.
Mouse: I believe you are right. Thank you for saving my soup.
<3
I know who Whitey is - I was trying to be funny. So much for my career in comedy...
Zoomie: Well, I didn't know who he was... Your joke is VERY good.
Interesting - I can't say that I "boil" my fava beans when I make ful. I usually cook it in a low oven (great for a cold day). There are countless ways of making it. They vary around Egypt depending on what is available, but the basic recipe remains the same. Into a big pot, usually a special pot, a fūl-pot (qidra), narrow at the base, wide in the middle and narrow again at the top, you put the dried fava beans in to soak in water for 8 to 24 hours. Then you add the onion, tomatoes, a bit of salt and a few tablespoons of dried red lentils, which helps the color, she said. It is simmered over very low heat all night, covered so the beans don't discolor, and is usually eaten in the morning for breakfast, although Egyptians will eat it any time of the day.
In every case you must salt it yourself since it is never salted.
I've had it garlic sauce; fūl husniyya, with hard-boiled eggs and a baked béchamel sauce; and, my favorite, the flavorful fūl bi'l-basturma wa'l-bayd, with basturma (dried and spiced beef) and fried egg. Fūl with a drizzle of water buffalo samna (clarified butter), a pinch of salt, flatbread, and scallions on the side was also very good.
Now, probably more than you want to know about another way of cooking fava beans. But one more thing- the soup is delicious cold as well. I drain off some of the liquid, mix the beans with red onion, parsley, mint, cilantro and add a lemon vinaigrette dressing.
And yes, I have made a complete botch of far too many dishes to even think about.
Like Zoomie, I was waiting for the Whitey Bulger headlines in the NY POST to replace Weiner jokes. Seems only natural.
Kudzu: It's only natural. Except Weiner's tighties were gray, not white.
I've seen Kiki in the Sun. Adorable! Is this recent?
Ah...sorry about the soup. I do believe Whitey Bulger has been on the lam for more than 22 years. He's what? 82? Hell, they had to wait to he got that old so he couldn't outrun them anymore.
Somehow, it all make me want Bulger salad...
Simply: I could not put that in my mouth right now. How about some quinoa?
(The minute I read "rubber swim caps" I felt water in my ears.)
Kudzu: And to think it was pure sexism. Men didn't wear swim caps!
Post a Comment