Receta Warm Fava Beans, Green Garlic and Bacon on Polenta; the update
Did someone say trim?
Mon mari believes that a bit of trim can fix a multitude of, um, idiosyncrasies.
And when you are working with an old, stone farmhouse there are a lot of idiosyncrasies.
Walls and ceilings and floors that may have had square corners one or two hundred years ago, no longer do.
That, and because he really likes to do this sort of fancy detail work, is why he has spent these last weeks of winter working on trim.
Our bathroom window now has a frame and a sill - and the ceiling has an outline of, you guessed it, trim...
The door between the kitchen and den is finished... well, almost...
It still has the little final bits that he is doing on all the door frames:
He finished the frame around our front - and only, door:
And, he spent a day putting outlets in the floor. As the walls are stone, it's easier to do the wiring on the cellar ceiling and drill through the floor to put in outlets. Plus that way one can have lamps on tables that aren't up against a wall.
He put this one in the kitchen so we can have a little TV by the wood stove, and he put one in the middle of the den for a reading lamp. Of course, he had to drill through 2 layers of tile and a thick layer of concrete to do it....
That's what's new chez nous.
Well....
That and I found the first fava beans of the season the other day.
If you eat with the seasons, as we do..... This is the start of something wonderful...
- Warm Fava Beans, Green Garlic and Bacon on Polenta
- 3/4 cup peeled fava beans
- 4 slices streaky bacon
- 8 green garlic
- 2 tbs polenta
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 125ml) chicken stock
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbs truffle oil
- Peel fava beans: Break open the pod and take the
beans out. Don't bother with any really tiny ones. Blanch in rapidly
boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and put into cold water.
After blanching they will have a whitish outer shell. Just squeeze
lightly and the inner, bright green bean will pop out. It may split in
half... that's okay.
Make polenta: Heat chicken stock in a small saucepan until simmering. Add polenta,
stirring constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover to keep warm.
Trim green garlic and slice, using as much of the green tops as reasonable.
Roughly chop the bacon.
Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the bacon and fry until light brown and crisp. Drain off all but 2 tsp fat. Add the green garlic and stir-fry 1 minute. Add the fava beans and heat through.
To finish: Spoon polenta into 2 flattish soup plates. Spoon fava and green garlic on top, drizzle with truffle oil and serve.
I thought about adding a bit of Balsamic vinegar.... or maybe some fresh Parmesan.... But, I decided to let the flavors of the favas and green garlic shine.
I was happy.