Italian focaccia with fava beans

Recipe for focaccia with fava beans

Preparation and cooking

• - Prepare fava beans.
  Shell fava beans and let them boil in abundant salt water, two minutes.
  Drain very well.
  Let them cool and peel.
  If your fava beans are big, chop them.
  Chop your shallot and fry slightly in 2 teaspoons olive oil, on very low heat.
  Add fava beans and stir accurately.
  Add 50ml water and continue cooking until cooking juice is well reduced.
  The amount of water to be added and cooking time depend on fava bean size.
  Turn off the stove and season to taste with salt and, eventually, pepper.
• - Meanwhile ...
  ... prepare focaccia dough.
  Place 250g (8 3/4) flour on the work surface and make two wells, the first larger and the second smaller.
  Put salt and sugar in the smallest well. Dissolve yeast in 50ml (1 2/3 fluid ounces) warm water and add to the largest well together with 2 teaspoons olive oil.
  Mix flour, olive oil and water and then add other 50 to 70ml (1 2/3 to 2 1/3 fluid ounces) warm water, gradually.
  At the end add salt and sugar of the smallest well too.
  Knead your dough, about 10 minutes.
  Flatten your dough and add fava beans.
  Continue kneading adding other 50g (1 3/4 ounces) flour, gradually.
  Shape your dough into a ball, sprinkle with flour and cover with a napkin.
  Let your dough leaven in a warm place, about an hour.
• - Roll your dough with your fingers into a rectangular pan (27x34cm) greased with 2 teaspoons olive oil.
  Let it leaven, other 40 to 50 minutes.
• - Preheat oven to 200°C (400°C).
• - Beat remaining olive oil with 2 tablespoons water and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
  Sprinkle your emulsion on the focaccia top.
• - Bake until your focaccia surface is golden, about 20 minutes.

Just before serving

• - Serve your focaccia with fava beans warm or cold.

Note

Tips

• - I often prepare this focaccia with fava beans ahead because it is very tasty even when I heat it up.

Menu planning

• - This focaccia is very tasty, really! But it has the best result accompanied with salami and pecorino cheese. In this case it is a perfect Italian antipasto, according to our tradition and it serve more than 8 people.
• - Serve this focaccia, cut into pieces, in your happy hour and meals, buffet-style.

Healthy eating

• - This flatbread with fava beans is a vegetarian recipe which can be selected for your family menu. In this case I suggest you to accompany it with seasonal vegetables. According to the traditional Mediterranean diet, legumes should be matched only to carbo.
• - Do not worry about calories and fat if you choose it for your get-togethers.
• - Fiber per serving: 4.8 grams

Loretta

What's the right wine ?

Choose the wine to pair to this focaccia with fava beans according to the other dishes combined to it. My husband and I matched red and white wines, and beer too.