Pugliese Fava Beans & Chicories

The first time I ever had Pugliese Fava Beans was at a Puglian restaurant in Rome, and I remember looking at this bowl of bean mash thinking, perfect. Turns out, it was one of the most delicious, filling, yet simple things I’ve ever eaten. This traditional Puglian dish is called fave e cicoria, which means fava beans and chicory, and it’s a perfect example of how a few inexpensive ingredients can turn into something really special.

This recipe starts with dried fava beans, which might feel a little intimidating if you’re not used to cooking with them, but I promise the process is surprisingly easy and pretty hands-off. As the beans simmer with potatoes, shallots, and herbs, they soften and break down into a thick, chunky mash, no draining or extra equipment required. On top, there are the bitter, hearty chicories that are blanched right in the bean broth (nearly a one pot recipe friends!!) and then warmed in a pan with garlic and lemon. Kale and Swiss chard work beautifully, too, so don’t stress if you can’t find chicories.

Pile the greens over the beans and serve with crusty toasted sourdough for a cheap, cozy, and ridiculously good meal. This is Pugliese comfort food at its finest, and honestly, what more could we want?!

Ingredients you’ll need

• 8 ounces dried fava beans
• 6 ounces potatoes, cubed
• 1 (2 oz) shallot
• 1-2 sprigs rosemary
• 6-8 sage leaves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 8 cups water
• 1 pound chicories, or any leafy green
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 lemon
• Sourdough, optional for serving

What are chicories?

Chicory is a term rarely used in the vegetable world, because it’s a group of lettuce types, and that can get kind of confusing. So a lot of people aren’t even sure what chicories are!

To put it in simple terms: chicories are cool-weather crops and include lettuces like Belgian endive, curly endive, escarole and radicchio. They have a bitter flavor to them, but pair really well with really rich things or things with bright dressings or funky cheeses. I love chicories and try to use them often!

Ingredient substitutions

• Fava beans – you can use any other dried white bean you prefer. Dried cannellini beans, chickpeas, or butter beans will work perfectly. You can use canned beans if you really need to but you just won’t develop nearly the same amount of flavor.
• Potatoes – Either russet or yellow potatoes are perfect. If you choose to use sweet potatoes, that’s totally fine, you’ll just end up with an orange colored mash.
• Shallot – you can use a red, yellow, or white onion.
• Extra-virgin olive oil – swap for avocado oil, grapeseed oil, or really any oil you like.
• Chicories – you can use any hearty green that can handle blanching. Usually a good alternative is a green that still has its stems intact, such as kale or Swiss chard.

How to make the Puglian fava beans

1. The day before you plan to cook, soak the fava beans in water overnight up to 24 hours. See Note.
2. Chop the potatoes into 1-inch pieces, thinly slice the shallot, tie the herbs together with twine (optional).
3. Add the drained beans, potatoes, sliced shallot, herbs and 1/4 cup olive oil to a pot. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and cover with 8 cups of water. Bring to a robust simmer and cook for 50-60 minutes, bubbling the entire time.
4. As the beans cook, they’ll start to turn into a mash and the potatoes will soften into them. Around the 40-minute mark, remove the herbs. Continue stirring until you have a chunky mash, kind of like mashed potatoes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as you like.

Blanching and sautéing the chicories

Instead of breaking out another pot to blanch the chicories, we’re blanching them right in the water we’re cooking our beans in. This gives the blanched greens a little bit of an oil coating which helps cook them without any additional oil when we sauté them. Here’s how to blanch and sauté the greens:

“Blanch” the chicory in the simmering bean broth for 2-3 minutes, then submerge it in the ice water. Squeeze out the excess moisture and roughly chop the greens. Let them hang out until the beans are nearly finished.

When the beans are nearly done, place a large sauté pan on the burner next to them. Add the chicory (it should be a little oily from the blanching), the garlic cloves, and the juice of 1 lemon. Season with salt and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the chicories are wilted and warm.

Do I have to soak the dried beans?

I used to say you could skimp on soaking, but now I think it’s the most important thing. It cuts down your cooking time and helps with digestion. I recommend doing an overnight soak by placing the beans in a bowl of water before you go to bed, then you can continue on with the recipe tomorrow!

Can I make these beans in a pressure cooker?

Yes! Pressure cook the soaked fava beans with the potatoes, shallot, herbs, olive oil, salt, and water for 30 minutes. Once the pressure has released, drain off any excess liquid and transfer everything to a food processor. Pulse until you reach a chunky, mashed-potato-like consistency. Keep in mind that this method requires an extra piece of equipment, so you’ll be trading the longer stovetop cook for a little more cleanup!

Storage instructions

Refrigerator: I recommend storing the mash and the chicory in separate containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezer: You can freeze the fava bean mash for up to 3 months in an airtight bag or container. Unfortunately, I don’t recommend freezing the chicory because it’ll become pretty mushy when thawed.

Watch the recipe here

The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.

Looking for more bean recipes?

And that’s it for these Pugliese Fava Beans!

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