Fava Bean Purée with Swiss Chard & Roasted Tomatoes
Fava Bean Purée with Swiss Chard & Roasted Tomatoes. A classic Italian dish and perfect for summer. The colors are super vibrant, the flavors are extra summery. The toppings for fava bean purée are pretty endless but we love this combination for summer. The Swiss chard is colorful, the tomatoes are bursting, there’s lots of fresh summer herbs on top. Think, polenta but a liiittle different and maybe even a little better ;) !!
Some old world Italian food to get us through the fresh start of the week. And as you may have seen in our bio, we specialize in these kinds of dishes. Having great grandparents from Puglia meant a lot of old world, authentic Italian dishes that have been passed down the generations over the years. Fava bean purée is a dish I can remember having since I was young. Whenever we went to the Italian market in Philly, we always picked up dried Fava beans at Claudios to make the purée.
Throughout the years, we have always changed up the toppings. Usually the dish includes some type of green veggie. Oftentimes we opt for dandelion greens. However, today we went with rainbow Swiss chard since it was all we could find at the store. Either way, both greens are delicious. And to make it super summery, we added herby roasted tomatoes.
It is a really simple dish, but for some reason it is just so so good. There is some kind of Italian comfort to it. And since it’s Monday, I think we could all go for some hearty, delicious, Italian comfort food !!
Ingredients
For the Fava Beans
1 pound dried, shelled, split Fava beans
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
For the Swiss Chard
3 - 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic; minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 pounds Swiss chard; stems cut and leaves torn roughly
salt and pepper to taste
For the Roasted Tomatoes
10 - 12 ounces cherry tomatoes on the vine
2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh thyme leaves
fresh basil
Directions
Rinse the beans in water and place them in a medium-sized sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water, thyme, 1 whole garlic clove, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender for about 45 minutes. Add the olive oil to the sauce pan. With an immersion blender or food processor, pulse until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a large skillet, make the Swiss chard. Heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Add the Swiss chard and cook until wilted for about 3 - 5 minutes. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, add the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and basil leaves. Roast for 15 minutes or until starting to burst.
Serve fava bean purée topped with Swiss chard, roasted tomatoes, and additional fresh basil leaves.
