Fava Bean Salad

Of all the spring produce that shows up at the market, fresh fava beans might be my favorite. I wrote a bit about spring in Japan on Substack recently, but fava beans are the ones I look forward to most. Here, they're basically the spring version of edamame: boiled in salted water and eaten as a snack. But fava beans are meatier, brimming with umami, and if you get them young, surprisingly sweet and tender too.

The only catch is the prep. Fava beans need to be peeled twice: once to get them out of the pods, and again to remove the tough skin around each bean. This isn't as tedious as you might think. Twisting the plush, fuzzy pods makes them pop open with a satisfying snap, letting you pluck the beans out.

Once they're boiled, you'll notice a little divot on each one that looks like a belly button. Score the skin there with your nail and peel back the skin while gently squeezing the bean with your other hand, and it slides right out of its jacket like a bar of wet soap. It's oddly satisfying work and something I actually look forward to this time of year.

The thing is, you don't end up with much from a bag of while fava beans, so I like to stretch them into a salad. This time, I paired them with another spring favorite of mine, sweet snap peas. The combination of textures, along with the tuna's umami and a tangy lemon-Dijon vinaigrette, makes every bite addictive, keeping your fork going back for more.

I've covered how to trim and prep snap peas before, so check that out if you need a hand.