Fava Bean Vegetarian Soup Recipes

ARTICHOKE, FENNEL, CARROT & FAVA BEAN STEW WITH LEMON AND MINT

THIS SPRING VEGETABLE STEW is served all over North Africa.

The artichoke and fennel combination is served in Tunisia with

the addition of harissa. I prefer this dish lemony and minty, rather

than spicy, as I like to serve it with a more boldly fl avored meat or

chicken dish. If you cannot get fresh fava beans, use peas instead.

If you are worried about all of the vegetables coming out

perfectly, parboil the carrots separately and add them near the

end of cooking, along with the favas and mint. I have also cooked

the artichokes by themselves in olive oil and water until al dente

and then added them when the fennel is almost tender. Cooks

in North Africa are not worried about texture and don’t even

mind if the vegetables are soft and caramelized.

ingredients

• 2 lemons
• 6 medium to large artichokes
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 spring onions, sliced, or 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 to 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh fl at-leaf parsley
• 2 fennel bulbs, cut into quarters or eighths
• 12 baby carrots, peeled
• 1 cup vegetable broth or water, or as needed 
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 pounds fresh fava beans, outer shells removed, then blanched and peeled, or 2 cups peas
• Lots of chopped fresh mint

Instructions

Grate the zest of 1 lemon and set aside, then juice both lemons. Add half the lemon juice to a large bowl of water. Trim the artichokes by cutting off the stems fl ush to the bottoms. Remove all the leaves from the artichokes, scoop out the chokes, and put the artichoke bottoms in the lemon water. You can leave the artichoke hearts whole or cut them into halves or quarters.

Warm the olive oil in a tagine over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 8 minutes, until tender and translucent. Add the garlic, parsley, and lemon zest and stir for a minute or two. Add the artichokes, fennel, carrots and enough vegetable broth to barely cover. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover, and simmer for about 35 minutes. 

Check the liquid from time to time, adding a bit of water, if needed. Add the fava beans, remaining lemon juice, and mint. Adjust the seasoning and serve warm.

source: The tagine deck by Joyce Goldstein

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