Fava bean

The fava bean, or broad bean (Vicia faba), is the large, flat, green seed of an upright annual legume — one of the oldest cultivated plants on Earth, eaten in the Mediterranean and Middle East since the Neolithic. The plump seeds nestle in a thick, suede-lined pod, and each is wrapped in a waxy skin that cooks tender within but is often slipped off after a quick blanch to reveal a bright, buttery, grassy-sweet interior. A herald of spring, favas are classically tossed with mint and pecorino, mashed into Egyptian ful medames, and folded into the original falafel. One important caution shadows them: in people with the inherited enzyme deficiency G6PD, eating favas can trigger favism, an acute breakdown of red blood cells.