quinoa salad with artichoke hearts and fava beans

When fava beans showed up in my basket this week I knew I was going to be the only one in this house that would eat them.  As I have mentioned before fava beans are a lot of work. They are a lot of work UNLESS you put your two kids to work shelling beans.  I put the bowl of beans between them and they had a blast shelling the beans.  It was a an hour packed with lots of giggles and really cute brother sister time.  Brad may have mentioned the 60 minute segment and putting underage kids to work in the fields but, because there was laughter and no sun beating down on them I did not feel bad cleaning the kitchen while they worked on the beans. This salad packs a lot of vegetables with a fresh springtime taste.  It is good both hot and cold and would probably be good with a bit of feta or goat cheese sprinkled on top.

quinoa salad with artichoke hearts and fava beans

source: sweet flours 

1 pound fava beans, shelled (1 cup)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped sweet onion

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

6 oz frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

grated lemon rind  of 1 large lemon

fresh lemon juice  from zested large lemon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Remove the outer shell from the fava beans.

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and add 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Add the shelled beans, simmer for 5 minutes. Remove beans from the hot water and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and to shock the beans into maintaining their bright green color. When the beans have sunk to the bottom of the bowl of ice water, take them out and remove the outer pod.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and thyme; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add artichokes; sauté 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Add broth and quinoa; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until liquid is completely absorbed.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in beans, parsley, rind, juice, and salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.