How to Prep Broad Beans / Fava Beans

For the fresh fava beans

1. Remove the beans from the pod.
2. Add the beans to a pot of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Drain, rinse and place the beans into a bowl of iced water. This will stop the beans from cooking.
4. Take a bean out of the water, squeeze it gently and the bean will pop out of the pale skin. Discard the skin. Repeat with the remaining beans.
5. Use the podded and peeled broad beans as your recipe requires. They can be eaten cold or warm.

For the dried broad beans

1. Rinse the dried fava beans well.
2. Soak the dried fava beans in the water for 8 hours or overnight. They will expand and grow in size slightly.
3. TIP: Make them faster by boiling (use the same beans/water ratio as above) for 5 minutes, then leave to soak for 1 hour.
4. Drain and rinse the beans well. Discard the soaking water.
5. Peel each bean so they slip out of the skins, by gently squeezing them. Discard the skins. Repeat until you have podded all of the beans.
6. Add the podded beans to a large pot and top up with 5 cups (1.2L) of water {the same ratio as soaking}. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for up tp 45 minutes, checking that they're soft towards the end as some will take less time. You want them soft but not mushy. Drain and they're ready to use.