Asparagus And Fava Beans With Toasted Almonds Recipes

FAVA BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on a small baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Let stand until cool. Very coarsely chop; set aside.
• Heat broiler. Arrange bread on baking sheet. Brush lightly with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until just beginning to brown on the edges, about 1 minute per side. Remove from broiler; set aside.
• Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add fava beans, and blanch for 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to ice bath until cool. Pop out of skin.
• In a medium bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Add almonds, fava beans, cheese, and mint. Stir to combine. Taste, and adjust for seasoning.
• Place a pile of fennel on each of four plates, top with one quarter of the fava-bean salad. Serve with 3 slices of toast.

FAVA BEAN AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Blanch and skin the fava beans and place them in a bowl. Use the blanching water to blanch the asparagus, or steam the asparagus if you prefer. If blanching, bring the water in the pot to a boil, salt generously and add the asparagus spears. Blanch 1 to 4 minutes, depending on how thick the asparagus is; fat spears (recommended) will take up to 4 minutes, but thin ones are ready in 1 minute. You can steam the asparagus over 1 inch boiling water for the same amount of time if you prefer. Transfer the lightly cooked asparagus to a bowl of cold water, then drain and dry on paper towels. Cut into 1-inch lengths. Add to the bowl with the fava beans. Add the herbs, and the chickpeas if using.
• Combine the lemon zest and juice, vinegar, garlic or shallots, and salt to taste in a bowl. Whisk in the oil and yogurt. Toss with the favas and asparagus. Add the shaved Parmesan, toss again and serve, or allow to marinate for 30 minutes, then serve.

ASPARAGUS WITH TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil.
• Snap off and discard the ends of the asparagus. Cut trimmed asparagus spears on a diagonal into 2-inch-long pieces.
• Cook asparagus in boiling water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
• Drain and rinse under cold water. Pat asparagus dry with paper towels.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-heat. Add almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted (abour 3 minutes). Transfer to a plate.
• Heat oil and garlic together in a large skillet over medium heat until garlic begins to brown, about 2 minute Add asparagus and cook, stirring often, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in almonds. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

GREEN BEANS WITH PANCETTA & TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• In a medium pot with steamer insert, bring a few inches of water to a boil.
• In a large skillet, toast the almonds until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Add the beans to the steamer insert. Steam until bright green, but still slightly crisp. About 5 minutes.
• In the large skillet, melt the butter and add the pancetta. Cook on medium until the pancetta just starts to crisp.
• Add the beans to the skillet and toss to coat. Continue cooking until the beans are done, about 3 minutes.
• Serve the beans with the toasted almonds on top. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

ASPARAGUS WITH ALMONDS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute almonds in 1 teaspoon of oil until lightly browned; remove and set aside. In the same skillet, saute asparagus in the remaining oil for 1 minute. Add the water, sugar, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Drain. Sprinkle with lemon juice; top with almonds.

ASPARAGUS AND FAVA BEANS WITH TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Blanch fava beans in a pot of salted boiling water just until tender, about 1 minute. Transfer to an ice-water bath. Blanch asparagus in pot until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to ice-water bath. Drain vegetables. Remove outer skin from fava beans (you should have 1 cup). Pat asparagus dry.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Swirl in oil, then add garlic and fava beans and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is softened, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer beans to a plate with a slotted spoon. Let skillet cool slightly, then whisk lemon juice into oil in skillet; season with salt and pepper. (Add more oil if dressing is too tart.) Add asparagus; toss to coat with dressing.
• Combine almonds and lemon zest in a small bowl. Transfer asparagus to a platter, top with fava beans, and drizzle remaining dressing in skillet over top. Sprinkle with almond-zest mixture and serve.