Greek Fava

Yield: Serves 5-6 as a side or 3-4 as a main

Greek fava is a dish of pureed yellow split peas topped with any variety of toppings. The puree is flavored in the cooking with onion and carrot and broth, and then whatever toppings you choose bring extra punch. Legumes bring a lot of protein to the party, making it a wonderful swap for potatoes, and the dish can be easily made vegetarian or vegan with no loss of flavor. Even better, it can be made on the stovetop, or in an Instant Pot, or a slow cooker, so you can adapt the recipe for the way you prefer to cook.

Traditional toppings include  a salad of fresh chopped ripe tomatoes and thin sliced red onion tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper, and fried capers for crunch. Drizzle the oil you fried the capers in over the top. You can hold the fava, covered, in a 200-degree oven until it is time to serve, but it is also great at room temp, so you can just keep it in the pan, covered on the back of your stove with no heat. Give it a good stir, and if it has thickened in sitting, add a tablespoon or two of stock or olive oil to help loosen it back up.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dried yellow split peas
  • 1yellow onion, chopped coarsely
  • 1large carrot, peeled and chopped coarsely
  • 4 cups stock or water (can be chicken or vegetable stock, low sodium preferred)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

How to Make It

Step 1

Put the stock, peas, onion and carrot in a large heavy bottomed stock pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. If any foam rises to the top you can skim it, but it isn’t necessary. 

Step 2

Lower the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer until peas are tender, with no toothsomeness, 40-60 minutes. 

Step 3

When the peas are completely tender, remove from the heat, add in the oil, and puree with an immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor. 

Step 4

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add toppings. 

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