Fresh Fava and Green Almonds

I just cut the first favas of the season. The small velvety pods, with their tiny, juicy beans, are so tender that I love to eat them whole, on the spot.

I still have a bagful in the freezer of the remaining large shelled favas from last year. They have a tough, slightly bitter outer skin that would need to be removed, if we decided to follow the sophisticated Italian ways–but here nobody ever peels the fresh favas. I love to stew these tender pods with lemon and wild fennel, like string beans, or I chop them and cook them with orzo, risotto-like, adding chopped fresh garlic and a handful of crumbled feta at the end

Fava is the easiest plant to grow, even in our poor, rocky soil. The first time we planted dry fava beans, five or six years ago, it was already mid-winter. Too late, as it turned out. Everybody else on the island sowed them in late October. During the Lent that precedes Easter, my neighbors cooked delicious fresh fava stews. But in April our first plants had just started to fill with white flowers, accentuated with tiny black splashes. When the first pods formed the days had grown warm, and the favas needed regular watering. As they were taking-up too much space, and it was time to plant the tomatoes, we decided to uproot them before we even begun to get tired of inventing one more fava dish to use up the abundant crop, as is the case ever since…

Orzo with Fresh Fava, Feta and Lemon

I make this all the time, with any seasonal vegetable I harvest from the garden – diced tender zucchini, green beans or eggplants in the summer, squash, shredded cabbage, wild greens or spinach in the winter. The Orzo is cooked in the same style as Italian risotto, yielding a wonderful, creamy texture, though still with some bite.

Serves 3-4

1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 cups chopped fresh favas in their pods, or shelled fava beans
1 pound orzo
1/2 cup white wine
Salt and Aleppo pepper, or pepper flakes
7-8 cups chicken or vegetable stock, very hot
1/2 cup chopped wild fennel or dill
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped green garlic (optional)
2-3 cup feta cheese, mashed with a fork
3 tablespoons lemon zest

In a sauté pan or deep skillet warm the oil and sauté the garlic and the fava for 10 minutes.
Add the orzo and sauté, stirring for 2-3 minutes, to coat with oil, then pour in the wine, add a little salt (feta is quite salty) and pepper. Pour in 3 cups of the very hot broth, and cook, stirring every now and then, and adding additional broth as the pasta absorbs the liquid. After 10 minutes add the fennel or dill, reserving 1 tablespoon for serving; continue cooking and adding broth until orzo is cooked al dente, about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat, add the fresh garlic, if using, the lemon juice, 1 1/2 cups feta, and the zest. Stir, taste and correct seasoning. Sprinkle with fennel or dill, and serve immediately, bringing more feta in a bowl, so people can add more, if they like.

The return of fuzzy green almonds, like the fresh favas, marks the beginning of Spring. I love to pick them from the trees and nibble on them. Their crunchy outer layer is thick and juicy before they develop their hard, woody shells, and the nut inside looks like a translucent jelly drop. In Turkey the green almonds are cooked together with lamb, in a lemon-based sauce, and this time of year you can buy them in the markets of Istanbul and Anatolia. Here tsagala, as the unripe almonds are called, are preserved in heavy syrup and made into one of the countless spoon-sweets the frugal Greek cooks have invented. I often add the green almonds to salads, especially to the thick-yogurt-garlic tzatziki. Most of all, I like to make pickled green almonds, following the Eastern Mediterranean tradition. The crunchy, sour-sweet pickled tsagala are an ideal accompaniment to the sweet and strong anise-flavored ouzo or raki.

Pickled Tsagala (Green Almonds)

You need tiny green almonds that are crunchy but tender —before their shells have started to harden. My marinade is sour-sweet (agro-dolce). inspired by the pickling-liquid Italians in Liguria use for their tiny unripe peaches, which look and taste very much like green almonds.

Makes two 1/2 pint jars

2 ½ -3 cups (about 1/2 pound) green almonds —available in Spring in specialty California and New York markets
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 cinnamon sticks, about 2 inches long
2 bay leaves
2 or more small, dried chili peppers, slashed in half with scissors
Brine:
2 1/2 cups pickling white vinegar
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 cup honey
2-4 tablespoon sugar (to taste)

Pierce the green almonds with a skewer, starting at the stem and stopping before you reach the tip. Pack in 2 jars, and add a cinnamon stick, a bay leaf and 1 or more chilies in each jar.
Make the brine: In a non-reactive saucepan, warm the vinegar with the cloves, honey and 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir until the honey and sugar dissolves, lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Taste, and stir in more sugar if you like. Pour the hot brine over the almonds, topping with a little more vinegar if needed, to cover the almonds completely. Close the jars and leave in a cool place for at least 4 weeks before serving, shaking the jars from time to time. They keep in the brine for a year, or more.