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Happy Memorial Day, first of all. Let’s face it: shelling favas is a bitch. Time-consuming, with low return on the investment in terms of hours spent. But they ARE really good. And now’s the time here in Italy. Pix first, then a rant. Here’s one bucket. I shelled two. [not to bury the lede: total time to finish, all-in on double shelling was 6+ hours]. This was maybe 25% of our crop. Like zucchini in the U.S. summer, you can’t give them away. This is what came out after the first shelling. I do the shock and awe method for the second shelling. “Hey Siri, set a timer for 75 seconds”. Beans slip right out, but still there’s another round of shelling. Result: Total yield was 1.8 kg, net net. I vacuum packed a bunch. Will take some with me to Hamburg next month and make tagliatelle with favas and guanciale while we’re watching the Euros. I whizzed some for a puree: Raw favas, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, S&P plus cumin. It’s amaro, but I like it. Rant: I gave my neighbor some of the puree, and he reciprocated with favas in sugo – all from his garden (he’s the real deal – he grows everything that he eats, vegetable-wise). The sugo was great, but he didn’t second-shell the beans. WTF? It was so lacking in the fava department. The other night, I had dinner in my area at a rustic restaurant known for their pastas. Tagliatelle, also in a sugo with beans. Again, not second-shelled. Why do the Italians do this? It was just chaw chaw chaw on the outer skin. I don’t get it. Yes, a lot of added effort to get to those beauties, but the ultimate payoff is so worth it. End of rant. And Happy Memorial Day again.

I think there’s a clear solution to The Fava Conundrum: restaurants.

I love that movie.