Fava Bean Puree Crostini
Makes: about 15 Crostini
Garden of Eydie has a beautiful fava bean plant with lots of ready to harvest fava beans. There are so many ways to eat these nutty, delicious beans. I decided to make these super special, kind of nutty tasting beans the star of the show. Here is an elegant hors d’oeuvre you and your friends will swoon over! By the way, these beautiful tiny gems are not only delicious, they are loaded with nutrients and are a great source of soluble fiber, aiding digestion and lowering cholesterol levels. A twofer—delicious and healthy. That’s how we roll!
Garden of Eydie has a beautiful fava bean plant with lots of ready to harvest fava beans. There are so many ways to eat these nutty, delicious beans. I decided to make these super special, kind of nutty tasting beans the star of the show. Here is an elegant hors d’oeuvre you and your friends will swoon over! By the way, these beautiful tiny gems are not only delicious, they are loaded with nutrients and are a great source of soluble fiber, aiding digestion and lowering cholesterol levels. A twofer—delicious and healthy. That’s how we roll!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup blanched, or frozen and thawed fava beans (from about 3 pounds unshelled) (See video in step 1 below to see how to prep and cook fava beans)
- 2 tablespoons cooked cannellini beans
- 2 small garlic cloves, separated
- 1 tablespoon finely minced shallot
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or red pepper flakes, or more to taste (optional)
- ¼ cup basil chiffonade (sliced very thinly)
- 3 slices (more as needed) Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Bread, or other bread of your choice
- 4-5 cherry tomatoes, very thinly sliced widthwise
Directions
Preheat oven to 425℉
- Prepare fava beans. Set aside 2-3 whole beans for serving
- Place remaining fava beans, cannellini beans, 1 garlic clove minced, about ¼ teaspoon, minced shallot, lemon juice and Aleppo pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until somewhat smooth and just a tiny bit chunky. Scoop out the puree and put into a bowl. Stir in the chiffonade of basil. Taste and add more lemon juice, Aleppo or red pepper flakes, or basil as needed.
- Slice and toast Ezekiel bread: 1 slice = 5 crostini. We sliced off the bottom third of a slice of bread and cut it in half. The top 2/3rds of the bread are cut into 3 pieces, 2 “ends” and 1 middle piece. Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and toast until golden brown, about 2 minutes depending on your oven. Turn over the bread and toast the other side to just golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
- Once cool, slice the other piece of garlic clove in half and rub on one side of each crostini.
Place a teaspoon of fava bean puree on each crostini. Top with sliced cherry tomatoes and adorn with a cooked whole fava bean.
