Broad Beans / Fava Beans

Name: Broad beans, also called fava beans, faba beans or horse beans (Vicia faba) — large, flat, green beans in thick, spongy pods, with a tough outer skin and a creamy, earthy, slightly sweet interior.

Description

Broad beans are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the world, grown in the Mediterranean and Near East for around 8,000 years, and were a staple of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. They are a spring crop, and are a tradition at Easter in Italy and in Middle Eastern foods such as falafel and ful medames, the national dish of Egypt.

Young beans are tender and can be eaten whole, while larger ones have a tough skin that is often removed by double-podding, for a bright green, creamy bean. Dried fava beans are used in stews and purees.

Main nutrition value

Broad beans are an excellent source of plant protein, fibre, folate, iron, manganese and copper, and are naturally low in fat.

How best to be consumed

Broad beans are cooked, and often double-podded.

1. Pod the beans, blanch for 2 to 3 minutes, then slip off the tough grey-green outer skins.
2. Toss with olive oil, lemon, mint and soft cheese, or crush onto toast.
3. Add to risotto, pasta, soups and salads.
4. Cook dried beans into ful medames, falafel and Mediterranean stews.
5. Choose small, young pods, which are the tenderest.

Overconsumption could cause…

Broad beans are healthy for most people, but dangerous for a few.

1. Favism, a potentially serious illness in people with G6PD deficiency, an inherited enzyme condition, in which eating fava beans can cause the destruction of red blood cells.
2. Interaction with certain antidepressant medicines called MAO inhibitors, because the beans contain natural tyramine and levodopa.
3. Digestive upset (nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea) from raw or undercooked beans, which contain natural lectins that cooking destroys, so always cook beans thoroughly.
4. Bloating and gas from the fermentable carbohydrates in beans and peas, particularly if you are not used to eating them.

GroupsPods, Beans and PeasLegume familyHigh fibreLow fatLow sodiumRich in folateRich in vitamin KFresh

Related foodsGreen PeasEdamameLong Beans / Yardlong BeansSnow PeasSugar Snap PeasFrench Beans

Wikipedia — Vicia faba, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicia_faba