Fava beans or broad beans are a very ancient and precious legume and are used in various traditional Sicilian dishes.
This very traditional Sicilian recipe is great example of “Cucina Povera” or Italian peasant cooking. A Sicilian Fava & Fennel Seed Soup called “Maccu” - a comforting, velvety, rustic soup with roots going all the way back to Ancient Rome and Greece.
Just follow these simple steps to make it:
Ingredients & Method
Soak 1 cup of dried fava overnight. Drain and set aside.
Finely dice: 1 carrot, 1 tomato, 2 cloves garlic. Then add them to a pot with 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp fennel seeds, the fava beans, salt, pepper and 4 cups of vegetable stock. Cook until the beans have a mushy consistency but the soup is still quite watery.
Using an immersion blender, blend the beans to creamy. Bring the soup back to boil and add 100g of pasta. Cook until the pasta is done, then drizzle a little olive oil on top before serving.
