Fava pantremeni ... or the married fava

Can fava get married? Culinary creativity can make it happen. When Greek cooks decide to cook fava pantremeni, meaning the married fava, they have to choose carefully the ingredients. Like any successful marriage, the way different elements connect in the dish is of vital importance.

Advice for good marriage:

The groom                                               The bride

2 cups of green split peas (fava)                1 small onion or 2 green onions

1 medium onion                                       1 Tsp capers

3 Tsp olive oil                                          Extra virgin olive oil for serving

Water

salt

The ceremony

Wash the split peas under cold water. 

Put the split peas in a medium pan and cover with water. Turn the heat on and bring to a boil. Remove the foam and discard the water. 

In a deep bottom pan heat the olive oil and saute the onion. Add the split peas and give them a spin in the hot oil. Add enough hot water to cover the peas.

While the peas are cooking, keep adding hot water if needed. When the peas are almost soft add salt to your liking. The peas are ready when they are soft and most of the water has evaporated. 

During the cooking peas will start dissolving, creating a puree with big chunks of peas. If you like the puree smoother you can always use the food processor.

Serve the fava in a bowl. Cut the onion in whatever shape you like and decorate the top along with some capers. Finish with a hearty serving of olive oil.

Marriage counseling

The two parties can always bring more into the wedding. For example, many cooks like tho flavor the fava with some kind of stock, such as vegetable or chicken.

On the bride's side, fava can be served with some kind of protein, usually seafood. On Greek islands cooks serve it with grilled octopus or fried cuttle fish. This is an excellent combination, as the ocean breeze of the seafood compliments well the earthy flavors of split peas. However, the choice of protein is entirely to your liking.

Just remember that when it comes to serving fava the Greek way it works as simplistic as a marriage. You don't need many ingredients. After all, a little more adds flavor, but a lot more is a crowd!

 

Fabulus legumes, part 2: the hummus origins

Cari's visit went as smooth as I expected it to be. She and her family came with a healthy appetite to try local food and take a deep plunge into the flavors and the aromas of the Greek culinary world. They had the great fortune of visiting during the lent period for one main reason. In order for restauranteurs to maintain their fasting clientele, they adjust their menus to include some marvelous vegetarian dishes from the Greek cooking tradition.

"We want to taste everything Greek!" was the visitors' wish, which made me extremely happy.

"Everything! The Greek salad, the fava beans, the lamb, the Greek hummus...!"

Hummus? A thousand little bells started ringing in my head, forcing my memory cabinets open to spill any information I had on hummus. No indication on the Hellenic identity of this dish surfaced.

"Why do you think hummus is a Greek dish?" I asked Cari.

Hummus served with flat bread  (photo retrieved from www.tovima.gr)

Revelation and misunderstanding! Cari reminded me of that brand of edible products, commonly found in grocery stores all around the US, with the characteristically Hellenic name. Among the typical Greek products, like feta cheese, olives and pita bread, one of the company's best selling product is hummus. Obviously, the popularity of the product in the marketplace has created the belief to the consumers that the origin of hummus is Greek! As much as I would like to express my chauvinism by stating that everything stems from the Greek civilization, I could not falsely claim the originality of hummus on behalf of my culture. 

Garbanzo beans (photo retrieved from www.emprosnet.gr)

Hummus is a dip or a spread, with the basic ingredient being the garbanzo beans, mashed and flavored with tahini (sesame paste), a splash of lemon and some garlic. Although great Greek philosophers, like Socrates and Plato, praised the nutritional value of mashed garbanzos, the roots of hummus reside in the boisterous history of the Arab world. Even the name stems from the Arab language, as hummus is the word for chickpeas. It is difficult to tell which culture first created this delicacy, but there is definite proof of the recipe presence in a 13th century cookbook, discovered in Cairo. Since then, this food has become one of the most consumed dishes, not only in the Middle East, but around the world as well. 

A little poll among my group of peers revealed that Greeks do not clearly know what hummus is or which cuisine features it, fortifying the fact that this particular dish is not part of our cooking tradition. In a later conversation with my friend Maria, from the idyllic island of Zakynthos, I learned that hummus is actually served as an appetizer in tourist restaurants, as there is a popular demand for it. 

Yellow split peas

Then I remembered what one of my university professors, the late Nikos Margaris, wrote in one of his books, regarding Greek environment*. According to him, cooking tradition and practices in Greece are related to environmental factors. In older times, when electricity was not part of the cooking equation, ingredients that take a long time to cook, thus require a considerable amount of fuel, were part of the diet in areas where a lot of wood was available. Garbanzo beans need a lot of time to cook, thus they are commonly found in dishes of large islands, like Lesvos, where vast forests grew, providing adequate fuel material. Smaller islands though, had limited fuel resources, thus they had to choose a legume that is equally nutritious, but cooks faster. One such legume is split peas, which is commonly cultivated in smaller islands, like Santorini and Mykonos. As a matter of fact, Santorini split peas, or fava, is one of the most famous POD products of Greece.

Split pea puree served the Greek way

So, if you are planning a vacation in Greece, with the goal to taste Greek food, like Cari and her family, instead of hummus order fava. That is the split pea puree. Both Cari and I can assure you that it tastes deliciously!







* Μάργαρης, Ν.Σ. (2001), Οδοιπορικό στο ελληνικό περιβάλλον, Ελληνικά Γράμματα, Αθήνα

Fabulous legumes, part 1: the hole in the fava

A month ago, I was pleased to have my good friend Cari over for a mini vacation in Greece. We agreed to meet in Athens and I was delighted not only to see my friend again, but to meet her mother Sandy and their family friend Christy. 

Since Cari was fully aware of my food passion, I thought that a culinary tour of Athens, besides the expected sightseeing, would be a good idea. So, I invited the lovely ladies to a true Greek gyro place, where I was taken by surprise when Christy ordered with much enthusiasm the bubbly lemonade, a typical refreshment in Greece, but an uncommon choice in the US. They all yearned to try the mousaka, the Greek version of lasagna with layers of aubergine and zucchini instead of pasta sheets and a rich creamy bechamel top. Images of succulent pieces of mousaka were portrayed everywhere in downtown Athenian restaurants, as this particular dish has been foreign visitors' favorite and has become the cornerstone of Greek gastronomic tourism.

And then an unusual request came from the happy visitors, as they expressed the wish to try fava beans. That woke gruesome memories from my childhood, when I was strictly forbidden to eat that oddly looking relative of legumes. Doctors explained my condition as G6PD deficiency or favism, a lack of an enzyme, which can cause severe hemolysis in case of fava bean consumption, a condition very common in Greece. Put in motherly care jargon: eat a single bean and you will turn blue!

The fear of turning into an ungraceful Smurf followed me all the way to the US. Fully unaware of the market name of this bean, I refused to eat anything resembling it. All I knew was its scientific name, but I found it ridiculous to go around asking producers or waiters if their product contained any Vicia faba. However, in a trip to Seattle's Pike Place Market, I was lucky enough to encounter my culinary enemy under a distinguishable sign saying "Fava beans". My relief for knowing the bean's name was enhanced by realizing that fava beans were not a common delicacy, even in an area famous for its legume production, such as the Palouse. 

Fava bean though is one of the oldest plant species that were domesticated for mass production in Northen Africa and the surrounding areas and it has been part of the Mediterranean diet for over 6,000 years. It is also known as broad bean for its big and flat shape, compared to other kinds of beans. For certain civilizations the fava bean had symbolic value as well. Given its dark brown color, Ancient Greeks used it as a voting chip, declaring a negative vote, as opposed to a white bean for positive support. In other cultures, fava bean symbolizes good luck, and it is hidden in pies for the fortunate to find. In the Italian-American cultural beliefs, fava bean crops saved the population from starvation in a Middle Ages drought in Sicily, with the blessing of St. Joseph. Thus, Italian-Americans give grace to St. Joseph by distributing food, including fava beans, to the needy, a practice very common in Catholic communities of New Orleans. 

As I was explaining to my visiting friends, old and newly acquired, how to find fava beans in Greek restaurants, I had to clarify a common language misconception. Fava comes from the latin word faba, which means bean and explains perfectly the given name of this peculiar legume. However, if you order fava in a Greek restaurant you will find yourself in the surprising position of receiving a healthy serving of split pea puree, yellow or green, depending on the variety of the seed.

Wierd... or as Greeks like to say "there's a hole in the fava"! The expression refers to the way split pea puree is served, in a deep bowl with a big hole in the middle, which hosts a generous serving of olive oil. The linguistic misconception about the name fava probably stems from the fact that both grains belong to relative botanical families, as well as their similar culinary uses. Fava bean puree, made of cracked beans, slow cooked until they melt and served with the same hole in the middle, is also a common dish in Greece. But isn't any other legume puree, like hummus?

The answer follows in a few days! 

*A big thank-you to Costas Pigadas for enthusiastically contributing to this blog post, with cooking and food styling ideas.