Try this recipe for a delicious dish of Ceci Neri with Fava Bean Puree. Fava beans, Ceci Neri (black chickpeas) and other flavorful ingredients make this a great dish with contrasts of textures and colors!
While at the local farmer's market this last summer, I came across fresh fava beans for the first time and really wanted to try them out. I was working on a recipe development project for my vegan chef course, and wanted to use some of the herbs growing in the garden. I love the contrasting colors and textures! Enjoy!
Ingredients
- Ceci neri (also known as black chickpeas)
- Fresh fava beans (you can use frozen)
- Walnuts
- Fresh mint
- Garlic
- Lime juice
See the recipe card for quantities.
This dish is most striking with the ceci neri and the fresh fava beans, with the black of the beans contrasted with the background of the bright green fava beans. The ceci neri are firmer than the usual beige chickpeas, which provides a texture contrast against the creaminess of the fava beans. The lime juice gives an excellent tang against the coolness of the mint.
Variations
The fava beans could be replaced with edamame to give the same fresh green color.
The chocolate mint is quite good, but could be replaced with regular mint.
Top tip
Do be careful with browning the garlic. The heat should be set as low as possible so that the garlic doesn't burn. Keep an eye on it while preparing the rest of the dish.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Ceci Neri with Fava Bean Puree
Ingredients
- 360 grams fava beans fresh, fully shelled
- 45 grams black chickpeas cooked
- 4 cloves garlic
- 30 grams chocolate mint leaves
- 60 grams walnuts
- 10 T extra virgin olive oil
- 4 T lime juice
- 2 calendula flowers optional
- 2 shishito peppers optional
Instructions
- Peel garlic, leave in whole cloves. Heat a small saucepan until warm. Add 1-2 T of olive oil from the 10 needed for the recipe and wait until shimmering. Lower the heat to very low, add all the garlic cloves, toss to coat, and cover. Monitor through the entire process. The cloves should be browned on the outside and soft in the middle. 30-40 minutes.
- Dry roast the walnuts in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Add the mint leaves, oil from the garlic, two of the garlic cloves, the rest of the oil, the lime juice, and the walnuts into a food processor. Blend until desired consistency. I like a bit of chunk, but it makes it hard to spread.
- Steam the fava beans for 10 minutes in a steaming basket inside a covered pot. Mix the steamed beans with ¼ cup of the steaming water and 2 of the browned garlic cloves. Puree with an immersion blender until desired consistency.
- Wash shishitos, if using, and massage in olive oil. Do not drench, but work to get it into the ridges. Saute over medium heat until blistered, turning frequently, about 10 minutes.
- Place half of the warm puree on the plate. Sprinkle with half of the black chickpeas. Place the calendula flower (if used) and the pesto as desired. Add blistered shishito, if used).
Bud says
Thanks very nice blog!