This very simple dish grows out of local farming tradition. The recipe contains memories linked to the tradition of agricultural life, bringing food from the land directly to the table, and it has been passed down from family to family.
This very simple dish grows out of local farming tradition. The recipe contains memories linked to the tradition of agricultural life, bringing food from the land directly to the table, and it has been passed down from family to family.
Soak the dried broad beans the night before the cooking.
Boil them in a pan covering with salty water.
Drain them and serve with olive oil, oregano, salt and garlic. Pepper can be added.
Recipe Notes
Contributor: Saverio Cannuso, 78
Place: Palazzo Adriano, Italy
Background:
Personal Background:
He has spent his whole life working in the countryside. His life is full of memories about his work on the field. He’s glad to remind the breaks taken to cook the harvested beans.
Recipe’s Personal Background
How did you learn this recipe?
The simple dish is born from a farmers’ tradition
Is there some memory/historical event connected to this recipe?
It holds memories of the agrarian life, in the fields and it brings with the simplicity of old time dishes
Personal reference to tradition transmitted by relatives (preparing together, sharing, eating together etc.)?
The recipe was passed on from father to son, from family to family, and it represented one of the most necessary and essential food to bring onto the table, directly from the ground.
Mediterranean Background
Any tradition this receipe is connected to? If yes, which one? Can you describe it?
No there’s not a tradition connected to it.
Any Festivity this recipe is connected to? If yes, which one? Can you describe it?
In Campofiorito, a small village in the Palermo hinterland, confining with the areas of Trapani and Agrigento, at the bottom of the Sicani mountains and between the valleys of Belice and Sosio, the first Saturday of August, every year takes place the FESTIVAL OF FAVA BEANS.
Is your recipe connected to the territory you live in? Is it strictly linked to the specificity of the agricultural environment?
The festival of the fava bean is not connected to historical traditions and is relatively recent. The city council in fact decided to celebrate the peasant origins of Campofiorito and its deep connection to the land.
Season (season this food is linked to)
In August the dry beans from the latest harvest are used, but ideally they grow up in winter.
Ingredient
Nutritional Importance
Health Benefits
Dry uncooked beans
It is a legume, made up of 50% carbohydrates, 38% proteins and 21% fibers. Moreover, there are vitamins V and C, a lot of mineral salts, like potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc and selenium.
Food suggested to anaemic people because of its rich quantity of iron, but also because of the normal mineral salts supply in the diet.
Garlic
Great source of vitamin C, vitamin B6 and manganese.It also contains considerable levels of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and selenium.
Its properties are enhanced if eaten raw.
Evidence suggests that the ingestion of garlic reduces the risk of cancer, specifically prostate, oesophagus, colorectal and ovaries. It shows antibacterial and antiviral
properties, yet revealing interesting moderate effects in the reduction of blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides.
Olive oil
Source of mono-unsaturated fat. It contains vitamins E and K.
The main fatty acid of olive oil, oleic acid, is more resistant to oxidation than polyunsaturated oils, reducing total and LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol), while increasing the HDL fraction (“good” cholesterol). The phenolic compound of olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties which softens cell membranes while turning them more resistant to the action of free radicals. This protective effect of olive oil also extends to the decrease of arterial blood pressure, to the strengthening of the immune system and to the prevention of certain types of cancers.
Additional information
Is it suggested to eat this meal if you suffer from some disease? If yes, for which one?
This dish can be recommended to anyone who has lack of iron (anaemia), to increase the supply mineral salts and facilitate the gastrointestinal transit.
What is the primary base with which your food is prepared? Is this a derivative of oil or another base?
Extra-virgin olive oil is the basic element of the dressing that will help you to taste at best this poor dish but at the same time rich in nutrition.
What nutrition related illnesses or deficiencies are common in your area? Are there holistic or nutrition based remedies connected to these aliments?
The consumption of fava beans can cause, in some individuals, allergic reactions. Fauvism is a severe pathology (potentially lethal) that causes the modification of red blood cells causing anaemia.
