Week Five - Mexican Fava Bean Soup - Sopa de Habas

This soup turned out truly amazing. Unfortunately, the Fava beans I had were “shy” and for the size of the pods, I actually only had a small amount of beans to work with. Definitely, I would love to try this soup again!

According to the source of the recipe, the secret of this soup is the “recado” or or tomato base that was made in step two.

I didn’t have saffron, so I made a few adjustments.

Sopa de Habas
 
Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Shelled, dried fava beans (I had about one cup)
• 1 Ripe Tomato, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped (I used garlic scapes)
•  Small yellow onion, chopped (I used spring onions from week 4) 
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• ¼ tsp. crushed saffron threads (I added a generous dash of Tajin seasoning) 
• ¼ tsp. cumin
  

 Directions:
Step 1: Bring fava beans and 4 cups water (I reduced to 2 cups of water and 1 cup of vegetable broth to make up for the smaller amount of beans) to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered and stirring, until tender, about 40 minutes.       
Step 2: Meanwhile, make the recado: Combine tomato, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor and puree; set aside.         
Step 3: Heat oil in another pan over medium-high heat. Add recado and cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.   
Step 4:  Add the fava beans along with their cooking liquid, saffron, and cumin. Cook the beans, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld and beans are very tender and break up in the soup, about 10 minutes.