There is usually just a brief window of opportunity to make this corn and fava bean risotto - in some areas the very end of spring turned first glimpse of summer and in others in mid-summer, when, if you’re lucky, both fava beans and sweet corn are available.
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. fava beans
- 2 ears sweet corn
- 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cups aborio or risotto rice
- 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 3/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan or other hard, grating cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Preparation:
- Shell, blanch, and re-shell the fava beans: Remove fava beans from their pods. Blanch the fava beans for 2 minutes in boiling, salted water. Drain and plunge in ice water. Shell the fava beans and set aside. You should have about 3/4 cup.
- Cut the kernels off the corn cobs and reserve them with the fava beans.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the broth to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté the onion, garlic, and salt in olive oil until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir until it is thoroughly coated with oil. Slowly pour in the wine. Cook, stirring constantly until the wine is completely absorbed and evaporated.
- Add 1 cup hot broth and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is almost completely absorbed. Add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, cooking and letting liquid absorb between additions. After 15 minutes, add the the fava beans and corn. Continue adding broth until the rice is tender, but still firm , about 25 minutes. You may not need the last 1/4 cup of broth.
- When the rice is cooked, add a final scant 1/4 cup of liquid, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and pepper to taste, if you like.
Makes 4 servings Fava Bean & Sweet Corn Risotto.
