makes about 3 quarts
Notes
Mostly, one thinks of favas as the puffy green pod with the fava bean in it. Well, just as all beans get dried and saved for off-season cooking, so do favas. Shelled and dried, they behave like dried peas when cooked, disintegrating and making a delicious and dense soup. When I was a little girl, it was part of my job to help Nonna Rosa pull the beans out of the pods and lay them on mats for drying so she could make rich winter soups. In my own kitchen, this was a job my mother, Erminia, took very seriously, and she would patiently sit at our kitchen table for hours, pulling beans out of pods, sometimes singing an old Italian song as she proceeded. Since the favas you use here are peeled and split before drying, you do not have to soak them as long as other dried beans—3 hours is fine. You can soak them overnight if you prefer; just be aware that the cooking time on the soup will be a little less. You can make this soup ahead, but add rice only to the portion you want to serve right away.
Ingredients
- 1 pound peeled dried favas, soaked for at least 3 hours and up to overnight
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 8 ounces prosciutto cotto, thickly sliced, cubed
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon peperoncino flakes
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
Directions
Drain the soaked favas and rinse them. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the prosciutto cotto, and cook until it begins to crisp on the edges, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, onion, and carrots, and cook until the onion begins to wilt, 5 to 6 minutes.
Make a space in the pan, and add the tomato paste to that spot. Cook and stir the tomato paste there for a minute, sprinkle in the thyme, then stir this into the vegetables. Add the favas and 4 quarts water. Bring it to a simmer, and add the bay leaves and peperoncino. Bring to a rapid simmer, and cook until the favas are cooked through and have begun to fall apart, about 11/2 hours.
Add the rice, return to a simmer, and cook until the rice is al dente,
14 to 16 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Season with salt, if needed. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.
