Fave Beans and Fave Pate'

Fresh fave beens are hard to come by in both the US and in France. They have a very short time period they are in season. When I see them in the store I change dinner plans to include them. I have prepared them twice so far on this trip but keep forgetting to take a picture when the dish is done. They take a little time to prepare, opening the pods and then removing a waxy layer on the bean but I believe it is all worth it for the final dish. Calum and I tried to take a little video to show you how to remove the waxy layor but I couldn't figure out how to embed the video into blogger. Here is a picture showing the removal of  the thin layer you want to take off form the large beans. The small ones are just fine with theirs. If any blogger experts want to send info on embedding video in the blog, I would love the help.

Here is the fave bean recipe for the cookbook

Two lbs fave beans in shells, pull all beans out and revmove the waxy layer.

Two Tablespoons Olive Oil

One large shallot minced

Two American pieces of bacon or 6 pieces of pancetta 

One large piece of celery diced or two small pieces, you can use the celery leaves too

One cup homemade stock if you have some on hand or you can use caned beef stock. You can also use a prepared beef bulion cube if you have that on hand. They useally have more salt so you will not need to add any more if you use bullion. 

Pepper and Salt to taste.

Sauté the shallots, bacon and celery in the olive oil for about 5-7 minutes, add the fave beans to the pan and add half of the stock. You will notice the beans start to turn a darker green as they soften. When the liquid is gone, add more stock to keep the beans cooking without burning. Continue until the liquid is gone, about 10 minutes total. Set aside while you prepare the rest of your dinner. Right before you serve you can add a bit more liquid and reheat. They will be tender and super tasty.

Fave pate: 

You can double this recipe if you want and with what is left over from the first meal you can pop into your blender and turn it into a pate that you can serve on none other than the home made crackers or crackers of your choice. You Cana also serve on french bread. If the pate is too dry you can add a tablespoon of olive oil!