I love fava beans and whenever I see a bag of frozen favas I pick up a bag hoping to come up with some new delicious stewy dish. The only problem is my husband is not as big a fan. He tolerates them in my Lamb, Fava stew, but this time I decided to try something different. I combined the fava beans with spinach and spices and some chickpea flour based on a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi, they are almost like a lava falafel but made as patties. They were big a hit, but next time I might add some fresh mint and they would be great served with labaneh.
Fava Spinach Cakes
Servings
8 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 14 oz. bag frozen fava beans defrosted (peeled if they still have the outer shell)
- 1 bunch fresh spinach blanched in boiling water for 1 minute or 10 oz. frozen spinach, defrosted and strained
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds ground
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 green chile like serrano
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- oil to fry
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except for chickpea flour and oil in a blender or food processor. Pulse until finely chopped and combined. Pour into a large bowl and mix in chickpea flour. Taste for salt and pepper.
- Heat a medium frying pan over high heat. Add oil. Once hot, shape mixture into golf ball size rounds and place in pan. Flatten with a fork and fry until golden, about 2 minutes, flip and cook on the other side.
- Remove to a paper towel and repeat until all patties are cooked.
- If you prefer your patties a bit firmer you can put them in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. They can also be made ahead and reheated in the oven this way.
This recipe is right up my alley !