Macco of Fava beans
Macco di Fave
The stain of fava beans it is a rustic and brothy cream, flavoured with wild fennel and completed with oil and chili pepper.
The stain of fava beans It is a rustic preparation with a soft and soupy consistency, suitable for a lunch or dinner where you are looking for a substantial dish based on a few ingredients. The long cooking time transforms the fava beans dried into a uniform puree, while the wild fennel It introduces a herbaceous and aromatic note that lightens the density of the legume. Extra virgin olive oil adds roundness and a pleasant unctuousness, balanced by the character of the chili pepper or black pepper. Macco can be served alone, but it also lends itself to fresh or short pasta or boiled wild vegetables, such as chicory and Swiss chard. In Sicily, it is prepared as an essential legume soup, enhancing the slow cooking and natural transformation of the vegetables. fava beans.
Instructions
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8 steps · natural Italian voice
Soften the fava beans
Put the fava beans Place the dried beans in a bowl, cover them with warm water, and let them soak overnight. Soaking is complete when the beans are visibly rehydrated and softer to the touch; this ensures even cooking and reduces the time needed to purée them.
Start cooking
Drain them fava beans, transfer them to a saucepan and cover them generously with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat; when the liquid reaches the first boil, lower the heat to maintain a gentle and regular cooking, without boiling too aggressively.
Cook the fava beans
Continue cooking over low heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon to prevent the fava beans stick to the bottom. Continue until the legumes have crumbled and the preparation has taken on the appearance of a soupy, smooth puree without any lumps. fava beans hard.
Prepare the wild fennel
Clean the wild fennel, chop it and cook it in boiling water. Drain it when the stems and firmer parts are tender, reserving the cooking water if necessary to adjust the consistency of the macco later or to cook the pasta in the dish.
Join the wild fennel
Add the wild fennel cooked and drained with puree fava beans, mixing until evenly distributed. Check that the mixture It should remain soft and soupy: if it is to accompany pasta, keep it slightly more liquid to allow for easy cooking and a creamy final consistency.
Flavor the macco
Season the macco with salt and season with extra virgin olive oil. Finish with a sprinkling of chili pepper or black pepper, adjusting the intensity according to taste. Mix until you obtain a well-blended seasoning, with a vegetal aroma of wild fennel and slightly shiny surface due to the presence of oil.
Serve the macco
Serve the macco on its own, keeping it in its soupy consistency, or use it as a base for pasta or vegetables. For pasta, choose fresh or short pasta and cook it in the macco, thinning it with the cooking water. wild fennelAlternatively, add boiled wild vegetables, such as chicory or Swiss chard.
Prepare the variant
To make the macco of fava beans greens, apply the same procedure using fava beans Large, firm greens. Remove the outer skin and the shoot before cooking, to obtain a finer puree and a uniform consistency in the finished dish.
Chef's Tips
Stir them often fava beans during cooking over low heat to prevent the puree from sticking to the bottom and to obtain a uniform soupy consistency.
Ingredients
- Ingredients for 4 people
- (17.64 oz) 500 g of fava beans dry
- 1 bunch of wild fennel
- extra virgin olive oil chili pepper (or black pepper) salt
Can't find it in the US?
- dried fava beansInternational markets
Dried split fava beans from Middle Eastern markets
Or: Dried large lima beans
- wild fennelHard to find in the US
Fennel fronds plus a pinch of crushed fennel seed
Or: Fresh dill plus fennel seed
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