Fava Bean Rice

Chef Margot shares her easy soul-soothing recipe for her son.

On the surface this recipe may seem plain or perhaps even boring. I promise you that if you like fava beans and perfect good rice then you will really enjoy this. You might even find your kids like it too–mine adores the bright green beans among the slightly browned rice.

Ingredients
1 cup blanched, shelled fava beans (remove beans from pods, blanch, cool, remove skins)
2 cups long grain basmati rice
3 Tbsp. olive oil – not extra-virgin
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. salt
1 stem fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 cups water

Directions
In a large sauté pan (non-stick helps), warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the butter. Allow it to foam, then settle, then add the rice, garlic clove (whole) and thyme stem. Stir the rice slowly and frequently as it toasts in the oil. You will see the grains so a more opaque white, then start to color a bit. When everything is a nice, golden brown (this will take about 20 minutes), add the butter, salt and water, stir well, cover tightly and remove from the heat. Allow to rest undisturbed for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff rice with a fork, and add the fava beans. Season with some freshly ground black pepper and a squirt of lemon juice instead of more salt.

The rice cooked this way tastes like buttered popcorn, but you should to use Basmati rice for the nuttiness. The creamy, bright green favas nestle like small gems in your rice bowl, and the aroma is truly soul-soothing. If you have any leftover, you can form the warm rice into a cake, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next morning sauté that excellent rice cake in a bit of oil or butter, and top with a really fresh egg. Incredible!