Equipment
Ingredients
Produce
- 200 g shelled fava beans, fresh or thawed from frozen
- 300 g roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
- 75 g red onion, finely diced
- 15 g jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 5 g garlic, minced
- 15 g fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Seasonings
- 30 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 15 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 4 g kosher salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Fill a mixing bowl with equal parts cold water and ice to create an ice bath. Set aside.
Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a rapid boil at 100°C/212°F.
Add the shelled fava beans to the boiling water and blanch for exactly 2 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, immediately transfer the blanched fava beans to the prepared ice bath to rapidly cool and halt the cooking process.
Drain the cooled fava beans. Gently pinch the outer waxy skin of each bean to pop the bright green inner cotyledon out. Discard the tough skins.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the peeled fava beans, diced tomatoes, diced red onion, minced jalapeno, minced garlic, and chopped cilantro.
Pour the freshly squeezed lime juice, olive oil, and kosher salt over the vegetable mixture. Toss gently to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Allow the salsa to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to marry and the acid to lightly cure the alliums.
Chef's Notes
- Fava beans require a process called double shelling. They must first be removed from their large fuzzy pods, blanched, and then squeezed out of their pale, waxy inner skins to reveal the tender, sweet bean inside.
- For optimal texture, select Roma or plum tomatoes. They possess a higher ratio of meaty flesh to watery pulp compared to slicing tomatoes, which prevents the salsa from becoming overly diluted.
- The 30-minute resting period is not merely a suggestion. The citric acid in the lime juice begins to denature the sharp sulfurous compounds in the raw red onion and garlic, mellowing their bite and creating a cohesive flavor profile.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store in an airtight container. Tomatoes will soften and release liquid over time.
