Chronic in the Kitchen: Sweet peas (and favas)

by Jennifer Hess

(Editrix's note: This is the 10th in a series of articles by Jennifer Hess on healthy cooking and eating. Look for more "Chronic in the Kitchen" articles soon! Questions? Suggestions? Contact Jennifer here.)

If my mother had told me when I was a finicky eight-year-old that someday I would not only eat peas and fava beans, but enjoy them, I would have thought she had a screw loose. I couldn’t imagine anything more boring or bland than overboiled, mushy and mealy-tasting peas - blargh! Fava beans? Forget about it… they looked too much like the lima beans I picked out of my alphabet soup. They couldn’t possibly taste good.

Times have changed, and my tastes along with them, and I have learned to love these little treasures hidden in their green pods. Green peas and fava beans are not only inexpensive, versatile and tasty; they are truly superfoods, rich in protein, fiber, folic acid, vitamins and minerals. Fava beans are among the highest in antioxidants among all beans and legumes. Frozen and canned versions are readily available year-round, but fresh peas and favas come into season in late spring/early summer, and they have a fresh, sweet, delicate flavor that the frozen and canned varieties just can’t match.

Fresh peas and favas are well worth seeking out, but if you can’t find them, frozen varieties are the best substitute. If you can only find canned, make sure to drain and rinse them well before using - the canning liquid is full of sodium. Dried fava beans have a completely different texture once they are rehydrated and cooked, so while they are still tasty and nutritious, they aren’t the best substitute for fresh favas.

Fresh young peas and favas can stand alone, boiled until they’re just cooked through and then tossed with some chopped fresh mint or tarragon, or they can be added to any number of soups, stews, salads or sautés. One of my favorite ways to use them is paired with fresh, tangy goat cheese in a silky risotto.

Traditional risottos get their creamy texture from the starchy outer coating that occurs when Arborio rice is stirred while it cooks, plus the addition of butter and cheese (and sometimes, heavy cream) right at the end of cooking. My version is a little bit lighter, gaining its creaminess by substituting soft fresh goat cheese for the butter and cream. A 1 oz. serving of goat cheese has just 65 calories and 5 grams of fat. It’s rich in protein and bone-building calcium, making it a great choice for one of your daily servings of low-fat dairy products.

Seek out fresh green peas and fava beans while they’re in season - they taste great and are great for you.

Pea, Fava Bean and Goat Cheese Risotto

1 tsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, diced
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry (white) vermouth or white wine (optional)
3-4 cups chicken broth or stock (you can substitute veggie stock or water)
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 cup each fresh shelled peas and fava beans (you can substitute frozen)
4 oz. soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled

In a wide, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter into the olive oil. Add the shallot and sauté over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat the grains with the butter/olive oil mixture. Lightly toast the rice until the outside edge of the grains becomes translucent. If using, add the vermouth or wine, and cook for a minute or two until the liquid is almost absorbed. Add one cup of broth or stock and stir, allowing the rice to absorb nearly all of the liquid before adding more. (Note: You don’t need to stir constantly, but do stir the risotto often, as this helps it to become creamy.) Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Continue to stir as you add the additional broth or stock a cup at a time.

Add the peas and fava beans when you add the third cup of stock or broth. When most of the third cup of liquid has been absorbed, and the risotto has cooked for about 20 minutes, taste it - it should be tender but al dente, with a bit of a “bite” left. Add additional liquid a little bit at a time if necessary. Remove from heat and add the goat cheese, stirring it through as it melts.

Divide the risotto among four shallow bowls, and garnish with lemon zest and chopped fresh herbs or pea shoots.

Serves 4.

Posted: 6/22/2006 in The Kitchen

Herbal tea tastes better in a ChronicBabe mug! (So does a frosty beer.) Buy yours today!

By Date:

Chronic in the Kitchen: Sweet peas (and favas)

Pea, Fava Bean and Goat Cheese Risotto