Fava Bean and Grapefruit Couscous Salad

October 25, 2013

I've just finished reading Love and Hunger from Charlotte Wood. Charlotte's writing style is inviting and I liked how each recipe is beautifully wrapped with a personal story. This book had me thinking about my experience; How I cook and what I eat today is somehow different yet influenced by the food I grew up with. In la Réunion, the cuisine gives a good place to legumes, les grains as we call them. I remember my three sisters and I had each one a favourite. And I think it remains true till today. My eldest sister, is fond of haricots rouges -red beans; My second elder sister has a soft spot for lentils; My younger sister prefers petits pois -peas- and I like flageolets very much.

As for fava beans, it's much later, when I first settled in Paris with Paprika that I got to taste them. It's a little confused in our mind how we cooked the beans or what we did exactly, but we both clearly remember their taste was terrible. We were totally inexperienced cooks at that time... Things have changed since and there's no more aversion. Each spring when broad beans appear on market stalls, I'm all happy. I grabbed a bag full last week and this salad is a little improvisation. It works well as main for lunch, but could go well served with grilled meat or shrimps.

Fava Bean and Pink Grapefruit Couscous Salad (For 2)

170g (about a glass) couscous
250g shelled fava beans 2 pink grapefruits, peeled and sliced into segments A handful of mint leaves, rinsed and finely chopped Olive oil Salt and pepper

Bring a pan filled with water to a boil and blanch fava beans for 1-2 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water. Peel the skin of fava beans, then drizzle with olive oil. Cook couscous following your packet instructions. After a couple of minutes scrap gently with a fork to separate the grains. When couscous has cooled down, mix in fava beans, grapefruits segments and chopped mint. Add olive oil and season with salt and pepper. You can add a couple of spoons of grapefruit juice too.

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J'ai fini tout récemment le livre de charlotte Wood Love and Hunger. Le style de Charlotte est engageant et j'ai apprécié comment chaque recette est joliment accompagnée d'une histoire personnelle. Ce livre m'a fait réfléchir à ma propre expérience; Comment je cuisine et ce que je mange aujourdhui est différent et pourtant influencé par la nourriture avec laquelle j'ai grandi. A la Réunion, la cuisine laisse une large part aux légumineuses, les grains comme on dit chez nous. Je me rapelle mes soeurs et moi avions chacune une préférence. Et je pense que c'est encore vrai aujourd'hui. Ma soeur aînée, adore les haricots rouges. Ma seconde soeur aînée a un faible pour les lentilles. Ma petite soeur préfère les petits pois. Et moi j'aime beaucoup les flageolets.

Quant aux fèves, ce n'est que bien plus tard, lorsque je me suis installée à Paris avec Paprika que j'en ai gouté pour la première fois. C'est un peu confus dans notre esprit comment nous les avons cuites ou ce que ce nous avons fait exactement, mais on se rappelle clairement qu'elles avaient un goût affreux. Nous étions encore des cuisiniers inexpérimentés à ce moment là... Les choses ont évolué depuis et il n'y a plus d'aversion. Chaque printemps lorsque les fèves sont de retour sur les étals du marché, je suis toute contente. J'ai pris un joli paquet la semaine dernière et cette salade est une petite improvisation. Elle marche bien en tant que plat principal pour un déjeuner, mais pourrait aussi être servie avec des brochettes de viande ou crevettes.

Comments

What a great idea with 3 of my favorite ingredients! a must try for me. karin@yumandmore

*This looks simplistically delicious and I can’t wait to give it a try. * Charles Hunter III

Beautiful simplicity! Love the gorgeous complimentary colours, perfect for summer. Thanks Viviane x laurasmess

Love the colors and ingredients in this salad. Fabulous! Lail | With A Spin

This looks so fresh and gorgeous - love the coral and green colours. leaf (the indolent cook)

I love that you can make the humble fava bean look so tempting! Gorgeous pics with sumptuous colour. Nic

I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted fava beans… your recipe looks so fresh… just beautiful! lizzygoodthings

Just delicious . . . mataicooking

looks so healthy and good!! Ayesha (Miss Spicy Hat n’ Sugar Socks)