Fava Bean

The Fava Bean requires effort. To reach it, you must work through a thick outer pod, then remove a second tough skin to find what is actually inside: a vivid, brilliant Bean that is one of the great pleasures of the spring table. Most cooks skip it when something easier is available. Those who do the work are rewarded with a flavour the simpler alternatives never come close to. Those born under the Fava Bean have always understood this.

Fava Beans are not afraid of difficulty. Where others are deterred by the double preparation, the short season, the effort of the thing, Fava Beans move toward it. Their courage is not performed — it lives in the decision to start before the outcome is guaranteed.

The Fava Bean’s challenge is recklessness. Courage without judgment is just speed. The Fava Year asks all Beans to ask not just whether they are willing to do the work — but whether this particular work is worth doing.