How to prepare fava beans

Corina on FAVAS: 

shucking fava beans… fava beans can be (but don't have to be) shucked twice. here are instructions on how to do the double shuck. but if the beans are young and tender you can grill them whole in the pod and eat the entire thing or only remove them from the pod and eat the skins. But usually we do the double shuck… 

first shucking: strip them out of their cozy, pods. usually if you twist the pod it will open up and you can pull the beans out of their comfortable home

second shucking: get a pot of salted water boiling. once the water boils drop the shucked favas into the pot. when the water comes back to a boil, turn off the heat, strain out the beans, and peel them out of their skins… (Aliza’s note: I usually sort my beans by size- large and small- add the larger ones to the boiling water first and then the smaller ones, wait for the beans to float to the surface of the boiling water and then skim the floaters out with a slotted spoon. If I’m going to use them later or want to keep them bright green and firm, I immediately rinse them in cold water or an ice bath to cool them quickly.)

Or you could toss them with a bit of good olive oil, fine salt and a pinch of chili flakes while they are still warm.