Succotash With Baby Squash, Fava Beans, Sweet Corn & Pancetta

While I'm off in NYC, downing delicious culinary delights, I thought I'd leave you with this lovely spring succotash recipe.  Every time I type the word succotash, all that goes through my head is Sylvester the Cat's catchphrase, "Sufferin' Succotash!" For this sufferin' succotash, I cook up some pancetta lardons, and then saute an array of farmers market vegetable confections in their fat.  This succotash is great as a stand alone lunch, side dish to a wonderful dinner, or served under grilled fish or slices of pork tenderloin (which is how I served it the other night).

Succotash With Baby Squash, Fava Beans, Sweet Corn And Pancetta
Serves 4-6 people
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1/4 cup pancetta, chopped into lardons
1/2 cup red onion, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 cup corn kernels (about 2 cobs of corn, kernels removed)
2 cup baby squash, thinly quartered
1/4 cup fava beans, blanched and peeled
pinch of pimenton (smoked parprika)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Saute the pancetta over medium high heat until starting to brown.  Add the red onion and jalapeno, and saute until tender.  Then, add the corn and the squash, cooking until tender.  Finally, stir in the fava beans, pimenton and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Enjoy!

Favetta & Prosciutto Crostinis

I'm in love with fava beans! They're one of my favorite ingredients, usually only available seasonally. Sure popping them out of their shells, blanching them, then peeling them again seems like a lot of work, but it's worth it for the chance to feast on these beauties. A little known fact is that fava beans aren't really even beans at all - they actually belong to the pea family, which makes sense given their pods. Extremely high in fiber (85% of the RDV) and iron (30% of the RDV), they're also very low in sodium and contain no cholesterol or fat. Fava beans are much more commonly found in Mediterranean cuisine than stateside, but if it were up to me, that would change!

After procuring some organic fava beans via my organic vegetable delivery service, I set about making a dish I've wanted to try for some time called favetta, a fava bean paste constructed almost like a pesto. After meditating on my ingredients for awhile, I settled on my own version of the recipe I wanted to try. Key to the dish is fresh lemon juice - the acid really makes this recipe sing. I also threw in some lovely rocket arugula, an extra health kick, walnuts and lots of fresh garlic. The result was a spread so rich and delicious, it was mind-boggling that it didn't contain any cheese. I served my favetta over toasted french bread, piled high with La Quercia prosciutto.


I loved it so much, I even made a prosciutto and faveta sandwich the next day, piling it onto toasted organic spelt bread. This is without question my favorite thing I've made in weeks. The only sad part is that once favas go out of season, I'll have to wait a year to eat it again! Although I'm considering trying the same recipe with edamame if I can't wait.


Domestic Diva's Favetta & Prosciutto Crostinis

1 cup fava beans, blanched & peeled
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup arugula or parsley
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 tbsp walnuts
2 garlic cloves, peeled
salt & pepper
French baguette, sliced and toasted
prosciutto

Directions:

Toss all of the favetta ingredients (fava beans, lemon juice, olive oil, walnuts, arugula, garlic) into a food processor. Blend until creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To make the crostinis, pile some prosciutto on the bread then top with a generous serving of favetta. Enjoy!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Fava Beans & Roasted Tomato Salad

Happy Memorial Day to my divas! As my special gift to you, I'm sharing my grilled pork tenderloin recipe I made this weekend. Inspired by the holiday weekend, the great organic, seasonal fare and my recent trip to Lucques, I put together one of the very best dinners I've cooked in a long time! Recently, I'd been lucky enough to procure a beautiful piece of organic pork tenderloin. I'd also collected lovely organic fava beans which happen to be in season right now. Working with these two ingredients, I formulated my complete menu. To prepare the pork, I crusted it with herbs and grilled it until it was medium rare, serving it over the blanched fava beans. I topped it off with a roasted tomato feta salsa and a sherry shallot vinegarette. I also prepared some lovely roasted new potatoes to serve with the main dish.


Domestic Diva's Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Fava Beans & Roasted Tomato Feta Salad

Ingredients

pork tenderloin
1 tbsp thyme, chopped
1 tbsp rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp sage, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup fava beans

tomato feta salad:

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp goat feta cheese
salt and pepper

sherry shallot vinegarette:

2 tbsp sherry vinegar
1/4 olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:

To cook the fava beans, shell them and then blanch for 2 minutes in salted, boiling water. Remove from the water and cool in an ice bath. Peel off the shells around the beans and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cherry tomatoes seed side up in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until well cooked and soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Mix them with the feta cheese to make the salad.

To make the vinegarette, place the sherry vinegar in a bowl and slowly whisk in the olive oil. Add the shallots and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To make the pork, coat it in the olive oil and herbs. Meanwhile, heat up the grill. Once it's hot, throw the tenderloin on the grill and cook, turning every few minutes until medium rare. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.


To place, place some of the fava beans on the bottom of the dish. Layer a few slices of pork on top and top with the tomato feta salad. Drizzle the vinegarette on top. Serve with roasted potatoes if desired. Enjoy!

Wine Tasting Notes: Blackbird 2005 Paramour

Diva Rating: 4 stars (out of 5 stars)

To pair with this great dinner, Kuzak opened a spectacular bottle of Blackbird's merlot/cabernet franc blend with a tiny bit of cabernet added. A big, smooth wine that we decanted and that showed the most character by the end of the night, we enjoyed it down to the last drops. It had great fruit and nice structure, a wine that could withstand aging, but that was also drinking great right now. While they've raised their prices recently, this is a wine that I would consider buying again.