Married Fava
This is the last recipe I cooked with my mum before I flew back to London with 2kg of Greek yellow split peas in my luggage. These little golden peas are the main ingredient of this recipe and in fact the name fava is misleading as the recipe doesn’t require any fava beans.
If you’ve ever been to Santorini, you have probably tasted this dish. The island produces a lot of these little pulses. The harvest is around May and the pods get stored underground for a year. After that they are dried in the sun and peeled. During this process the peas will split naturally.
This version of fava is called married (Pantremeni) as it is paired with sautéed onions, capers and cherry tomatoes. These ingredients work so well together and complement each other…just like a perfect marriage.
Ingredients:
250g yellow split peas
1 onion
750g water
½ a cup of olive oil + more olive oil to sauté the onions
Thyme
For the topping:
1 onion
8 cherry tomatoes
1 handful of capers
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
Salt/Pepper
Time
30min rest+50min to prepare
These quantities are enough for 4-5 people (to be served as an appetiser)
Step by Step
Put the fava beans in a bowl and cover them with water. Let them rest for 30min and rinse
Add you ½ cup of oil in a deep pot. Roughly chop one of the onions and sauté for a few minutes along with a few springs of thyme.
Add the fava in the pot, sprinkle with salt and stir a few times. Add the 750g of water and bring to boil
As soon as the water starts boiling put the heat to low and let simmer for roughly 50minutes. Put the lid on & don’t forget to stir regularly
Peel your cherry tomatoes, cut them in half and set them aside. Finely chop your capers and set aside. Finally, thinly slice the second onion and set aside too
In a non-stick pan sauté, the onions until they are translucent. Add in the vinegar and let it evaporate
Add the cherry tomatoes in the pan with the onions and let them cook for a few minutes
When the water of the tomatoes starts to evaporate, drop in the capers and cook for a couple of minutes
Your fava should be ready by now. All the water will have gone, and the split peas should start looking mushy
Blend the peas and set them aside to cool down. Once cooled down they will solidify a bit and your fava should have the consistency of a stiff potato mash
Serve in a bowl or a platter with the sauce on top
Tips & Cheats
To prevent fava from sticking at the bottom of your pot you have to keep an eye and stir regularly. Make also sure that the heat is on low or the water will evaporate too quickly.
Make sure you use a deep pot for the fava as it can be quite “jumpy” when hot.
Don’t be tempted to add more water or it will end up being too liquid. The secret as mentioned above is to stir frequently, low heat and to keep the lid on most of the time. Bear in mind that once it cools down it will solidify a bit.
