Fresh fava beans are such a rare treat I really wasn’t sure what to do with them when I found over a pound packed into my CSA box this week. I’ve blanched them in the past and just dressed them with salt and olive oil for a quick snack but this time I hoped for something more.

A quick search online suggested that fava might pair well with ricotta in a number of dishes. I picked up some Iggy bread prepared as toast in house at Central Bottle in Cambridge to use as the base for my crustini. It was an indulgent shortcut but saved me the trouble before a long commute home.

Prepping the fava beans involved a three step process. First blanch the fresh pods by boiling for a few minutes and then transferring them to an ice bath. Next remove the individual beans from the pods. Then finally, squeeze out the brilliant green fava beans from inside of the outer shell that protects each one. These inner layer fava beans will be almost flat and separate easily into two halves.

Assemble the crustini by scooping on the ricotta, then layering with fava beans. I was fortunate to have fresh basil in my box this week as well so I chopped up some of that and tossed it over each crustini. After trying a bite I found that it needed something more so I drizzled each one with olive oil, sprinkled on some salt and cracked black pepper over top… Voila!

Note: the olive oil was a great idea in the end but retrospectively I should have reached deeper into the cupboard and pulled out the good EVOO. This dish is so simple that each flavor really stands out and the best quality olive oil will make a difference.