Fava Beans

Last Saturday, in my CSA, I received some Fava Beans. I don't recall ever having them before, much less making anything with them, so I had to do a little research into how to prepare them. They're so weird! They're kinda lumpy pods with black blemishes all over them and quite large. You have to snap off one tip, and it becomes a string that you can pull to split in half. When you open it, there is a white, spongey interior, with 3-4 (sometimes just one, which seemed like a rip-off.) little smooth beans attached. 

 I thought I had a lot of beans, but once I opened them all up, there weren't that many ACTUAL beans. They're still not ready for consumption though, once you pluck them out of their pods. You have to steam them to remove them from ANOTHER shell. Yep, these are kinda time-consuming.

So I steamed them for 10 minutes, and they pop right out of their plastic-y shell. The actual bean is kinda mushy, so be careful smooshing them out of their shell. 

They basically taste like peas, not beans, but I did a little research and they are actually part of the pea family. They're pretty good for you, nutritionally-speaking, too.  Also, tasty! I threw them into a stir-fry I made, at the end since they were already steamed. I don't know if I would go out of my way to buy them, since they take a bit of prep for such a small amount, but it's fun to try new things!