Recipe Source: Goldstein, Joyce. Savoring Spain & Portugal. Oxmoor House, London, p. 176
I was drawing up a menu for a recent large gathering of people. The gathering was to take place at a campground up in Maine. I needed to make the dish something that could be served at room temperature and didn't need to be refrigerated, since facilities could best be described as "primitive." I wanted to make something vegetarian, both to serve alongside the meat main dish and in case any vegetarians happened to show up. This is one of the dishes that I found.
I really didn't make a huge number of changes. I omitted the bacon, because I wanted the dish to be vegetarian, because I didn't want to have to refrigerate the dish, and because I once promised a woman that I would not serve pork at one of these events. (Yes, I know that turkey bacon exists, and I've heard rumors of beef bacon, but come on.) I increased the garlic, although not by too much, and I tripled the recipe to accommodate the large number of guests we expected. On the whole, I would say that the dish came out pretty well, and I can tell you that it will keep long enough to use it for lunches, et cetera.
Favas with Cilantro (serves 20; approx. $0.54/serving)
3 lb frozen fava beans (or baby lima beans)
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 onions, chopped
10 tablespoons minced jarred garlic
3 cups water
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 bunches cilantro, washed and chopped
Equipment:
- Large saucepan with lid
- Thaw the beans.
- In the saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the onion and saute until the onion is tender.
- Add the garlic and saute 1 minute.
- Add the beans, bay leaves and enough water to barely cover.
- Cover and simmer about 10 - 15 minutes.
- Transfer to the serving vessel. Add the cilantro and serve.
