Fava beans from the yard!

Tomorrow I am going to do something really exciting. I am going to make Lemon and Fava Bean Risotto with fresh beans from my garden.

This is my first year growing fava beans and they are really a wonder. I planted them in April and by May they had the most beautiful white flowers with a deep purple center. Now it's June and they're already yielding gigantic green pods.

If you've never cooked fava beans before they can be a little tricky. They have two pods: a large green shell that looks like a big pea pod, and a white membrane that covers each individual bean. I remove the beans from the outer shell and cook them in boiling water with the membrane still attached. They don't need to cook for long, just 4 minutes or so. Once they're cooked they easily pop out of the membrane.

This batch of risotto will be even more special than usual because the lemon will be one hand-delivered to me by my aunt and uncle, who are visiting this week from the Bay Area. They have a lemon tree in their back yard and bring us a bag of fresh lemons every year.

The rest of the year, when I can't get fava beans, I used frozen baby lima beans in this recipe. If I can still get fresh asparagus at the farmers' market I often include that as well. Add the asparagus (washed, woody stem ends removed and each piece broken into two or three pieces) when the rice is almost cooked. It will lightly steam in the rice while it finishes cooking.

As if fava beans weren't wonderful enough on their own, they also fix nitrogen in the soil, so I know that even once they're gone they're still doing good things for my raised beds.

Lemon and Fava Bean Risotto
5 c. vegetable stock
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 c. Arborio rice
1/4 c. dry white wine
1 t. grated lemon zest
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 c. parmesan cheese plus more for serving if desired
1/2 pound cooked fava beans (about one pound of beans still in pods)
Salt and pepper to taste

Put vegetable stock in a large pan. Heat until simmering and keep warm.

Put butter and oil in a large saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until butter has melted. Add shallot and cook 1-2 minutes. Add rice and stir for 2-3 minutes. (Each rice grain must be coated in oil before you add any liquid.) Add white wine and cook, stirring, until almost all the wine is absorbed. Add 1/4 c. vegetable stock and cook, stirring, until stock is almost absorbed. Keep adding stock 1/4 c. at a time and stirring until rice is tender but not mushy. You may not use all the stock.

Remove the pan from heat and add lemon zest, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. Stir well to combine. Add beans and salt and pepper and stir gently. Serve immediately.