Broad Beans (Fèves)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart (3.8 L) saucepan
• •Large colander
• •Small paring knife
• •Undyed cotton kitchen string
• •Soft spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the savory water

   Put the water and salt in a 4-quart saucepan and bring them to a full boil. Rinse the sarriette carefully, keeping its leaves attached, and tie the stems into a compact bundle so it can be lifted out intact. Set a colander beside the stove before touching the beans; once they are peeled, they should go straight into the pot.

   The water should taste distinctly seasoned, not aggressively salty. This brief cooking gives the beans little time to absorb seasoning, so timid water produces timid fèves.
2. 2

   Shell and peel

   Only when the water is nearly boiling, split the pods and remove the beans. Nick the pale skin at each bean's seam with a thumbnail or the tip of a small paring knife, cutting the skin rather than the kernel, then press gently so the bright green bean slips free. Keep any kernels that split. Ça se rattrape: set the pieces apart and add them to the pot one minute after the whole beans so they do not soften too far.

3. 3

   Boil with sarriette

   Lower the tied sarriette into the boiling salted water, add the whole beans, then add any broken pieces one minute later. Return the water quickly to a boil and cook uncovered at a lively simmer, beginning to taste after 3 minutes; small young beans may be ready then, while larger ones can need 5 to 7 minutes. A finished bean yields cleanly under the teeth but still holds its shape, with no chalky centre. If a test bean suddenly turns very soft, drain the lot at once and spread them in a wide dish. Ça se rattrape: they will remain softer than intended, but stopping the carryover heat and handling them gently keeps them from becoming a purée.

4. 4

   Chop the cooked leaves

   Lift out the sarriette bundle and reserve it, then drain the beans thoroughly without rinsing. As soon as the herb is cool enough to handle, remove the string, strip the cooked leaves from the stems, and chop them finely. Discard the bare stems.

5. 5

   Fold and serve

   Return the drained fèves to the dry, still-warm saucepan with the heat turned off. Scatter over the chopped cooked sarriette leaves and fold them through with a soft spatula, gently enough to keep every bean whole. Taste one immediately and serve while the kernels are tender and vivid. Nothing more is needed. Cooking well is not cooking fancy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fresh fèves belong to spring and early summer. Choose firm, crisp pods with no blackened seams; if the market offers only limp pods or yellowing beans, frozen broad beans are honest food for another preparation, but they cannot reproduce this last-minute shelling lesson.
• •Summer savory, Satureja hortensis, has tender leaves and a peppery fragrance made for beans. Winter savory is woodier and stronger; if it is all you can find, use a smaller bunch of about 2/3 cup (160 ml / 10 g) and strip only its tender leaves after cooking.
• •Buy far more pods than the bowl of beans suggests. Broad bean pods are thick and generous in appearance but yield only a modest quantity of kernels; about 1.8 kilograms of pods gives roughly 450 grams after shelling and peeling.
• •Serve these fèves beside a plain omelette, roast chicken, or lamb. Their clean savory perfume is easily buried, so keep the rest of the plate direct.

Advance Preparation

• •Up to 2 hours ahead, rinse and tie the sarriette, measure the salt, and set out the pan and colander. Leave the beans sealed in their pods until the water is nearly boiling; shelling them early gives up the freshness the original instruction protects.
• •The cooked fèves are best served at once. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 2 days; warm them very gently with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) water so they do not dry out or collapse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 115g)