By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(325)
- Notes
- Read community notes
When I am planning a Passover menu I look to the Sephardic traditions of the Mediterranean. The Sephardim were the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula; they had a rich culture and lived in harmony with Christians and Muslims until the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions at the end of the 15th century, when all non-Christians were expelled from Spain and Portugal. The Sephardim were welcomed in Turkey, and many went to Greece, North Africa and the Middle East as well. Throughout the Mediterranean, springtime is the season for spinach and other greens, artichokes and fava beans, and these vegetables make delicious appearances at Passover meals. This dish is inspired by the fresh fava bean soup that Rivka Levy-Mellul, author of “La Cuisine Juive Marocaine,” remembers as the first course of her childhood Seders in Morocco. The authentic dish is a substantial soup made with quite a lot of meat, but I’ve made a vegetarian version. I expected the fava beans to color this soup a pale green, but the other vegetables — the carrots, leeks, turnips and onion — and especially the turmeric contribute just as much, and the color of the soup is more of a burnt orange.
Featured in: Sephardic Dishes for the Passover Table
Learn: How to Make Soup
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 2pounds fresh fava beans or ½ pound frozen double-peeled (2 cups)
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced
- 1large onion, chopped
- 2medium or large carrots, peeled and diced
- 1stalk celery, chopped
- 2medium turnips, peeled and diced
- 1small potato (about 4 ounces), peeled and diced
- 2quarts water, vegetable stock or chicken stock
- Salt to taste
- A bouquet garni made with a couple of sprigs of parsley, a bay leaf and several sprigs of cilantro
- ½teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½teaspoon turmeric
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
107 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 887 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Preparation
Step
1
Skin the fresh favas: bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Drop the shelled fava beans into the boiling water and boil 5 minutes. Drain and transfer immediately to the cold water. Allow the beans to cool for several minutes, then slip off their skins by pinching off the eye of the skin and squeezing gently. Hold several beans in one hand and use your other thumb and forefinger to pinch off the eyes, have a bowl for the shelled favas close at hand and this will not take very long.
Step
2
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and add the leeks, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes, and add the turnips, potatoes, favas, water or stock, salt and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender. Remove and discard the bouquet garni.
Step
3
Purée the soup using a hand blender or a food mill, or working in batches, in a blender, making sure that you place a towel over the top of the blender and remove the inner part of the lid to avoid hot splashes. Return to the pot, add the pepper, turmeric and chopped cilantro and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring often, for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve in wide soup bowls, garnished with cilantro leaves and with a drizzle of olive oil over each serving.
Tip
- Advance preparation: You can make the soup through Step 2 up to two days before serving. Refrigerate before puréeing. When you wish to serve, purée the soup, then reheat and proceed with the recipe.
Ratings
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out of 5
325
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Cooking Notes
Donna
Takes time, yes, but the aroma of this soup in a warm kitchen on a snowy day is lovely. A good recipe to make on weekend and enjoy the process. I used dried favas with good results. Also added a little cumin and, at the end, a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Loved this soup and will make it again!
Anne
Celery? Recipe text says "celery", but no celery listed in ingredients? Making the soup now, going to use two stalks.
Amy
Fava Bean prep: 30 minutes minimum
vegetable and bouquet garni prep: 25 minutes
sautee and bring to a boil: 20 minutes
cover and simmer 45 minutes
puree and simmer another 30 minutes
Total Time: 2.5 hr
I had to stop mid-recipe and whip out some pasta for my hungry family when I realized how long this would take. I resumed the next day and we all liked the soup, but not enough to merit this much time in the kitchen.
edward
How much cilantro should one use? It's mentioned in the recipe, but not in the ingredients
Jonathan
Like a few others, I found this a bit bland. So I added a teaspoon of harissa and a 1/4 cup of miso paste (red, but I think any would do) at the end. Voila: it was delicious.
chris
"several sprigs" as mentioned in the recipe. Anne's question of celery contents is the more egregious ingredient omission.
Rob M
Pretty lifeless unless you jazz it up. As someone else suggested, added a largish spoon of harissa, 1/4 cup miso, but also lots of garlic, and some vinegar. Why bother with fresh fava or even frozen if you are going to puree? Don't bother peeling beans. I used dried favas and pre cooked them from dry in the instant pot. I relish fava beans. Definitely top five on the legume list.
Martha
Wonderful soup
FP
Agreed that the prep for this takes quite a long time. It’s my experience that NYT usually wildly underestimates the prep time so we always add an extra 30 minutes to an hour :)
bermy
Has anyone made this soup with canned favs beans ?
Rachel Stevens
A follow up to the cilantro answer above: The several sprigs of cilantro seems to be for the bouquet garnit, but then chopped cilantro is added later, with the turmeric and pepper. Is this another “several sprigs”?
Delicious!
This soup is delicious! I added some harissa and cumin, and a little bit of lemon and a big glug of olive oil at the end. Served it with a big piece of fresh bread. The prep can take a bit, so I think this would make for a really great Sunday dinner.
sharon
Made this for Passover dinner last night and followed the recipe without any substitutions. For the amount of time it took to shell the beans (not to mention the price at Whole Foods) I was very disappointed in the final result. My usual weeknight split pea soup from the old Moosewood Cookbook is much easier and tastes about the same if not a little better.
BrooklynCook
Meh. Time-consuming and rather bland. Made me think of split pea soup. Won't be making again.
Monika
I recently ordered some organic dried fava beans. It would be nice to have an adaptation for using dried favas in this recipe - how long to soak, whether to cook first, etc. It's almost impossible in some places and at many times of year to find fresh fava beans.
BrooklynCook
Kind of bland, so I doctored with generous amount of aleppo pepper.
sandypope
I substituted frozen lima beans because I couldn't find fava beans anywhere. It is delicious - and using frozen beans cut down the prep time significantly. I added more turmeric, added garlic and half a bunch of cilantro. Plenty of flavor on the 2nd day especially!
Anne
I have same question as a previous post- can this be made well with dried fava beans? I’m thinking I would measure after hydrating them? I do not have access to fresh or frozen - have looked everywhere all this last year in my hometown.
Josie K.
This was a wonderful soup! So many subtle flavors. My first fava bean dish ever. As I grew the beans (very proud of that) and have a small crop to eat, I was looking for a recipe for my fresh beans. I really wanted to taste the bean flavor so I did season but only a little extra. I added 1 garlic clove. Doubled the turmeric and added a medium super ripe farmers market tomato. I avoided cumin as it is too strong for my taste. It took me 2.5 hrs to make. Delicious! Thanks Martha.
Joseph Wu
I agree with those who wrote that this is time intensive, but it is worth it (particularly when most of the ingredients are fresh from the local farmer's market) . I added a few cloves of garlic, lemon juice, 1 tsp of harissa, and 1 tsp of cumin as suggested and it was terrific. Too bad fava beans are only in season for a couple of weeks each year.
Jonathan
Like a few others, I found this a bit bland. So I added a teaspoon of harissa and a 1/4 cup of miso paste (red, but I think any would do) at the end. Voila: it was delicious.
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