Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
from seed, but it can be ready to harvest only forty-five days after planting. Broccoli, an-
other cool-weather crop, can take as much as three times that long. Favas take three or
four weeks longer than English peas (about eighty-five days normally). This is one reason
they are more popular in the Mediterranean, where they can be planted in late fall and will
survive the mild winter.
Legumes have the happy trait of nurturing the ground in which they're grown as well as
the humans who grow them. The roots of legumes contain nodules that host bacteria called
rhizobia. These bacteria have the ability to convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into soil-
borne forms that can be used by plants, reducing the need for fertilizer. Plant legumes for
the spring, and the field will be even more fertile in the fall.
The bright, sweet flavor is the main attraction of peas and beans, but it is as fragile as
it is appealing. How do you maintain it from field to plate? Speed and refrigeration are the
answer. The sugar that gives fresh peas their flavor vanishes quickly, particularly if they
are not stored carefully. Let peas get warm, and that sugar will convert very quickly to
starch. This happens almost ten times faster at 70 degrees than it does at 32 degrees. (The
latter is perfect for storage, but it is only one degree warmer than the freez ing temperature
for peas - scant margin in a home refrigerator.) Even storage temperatures warmer than 45
degrees - about the temperature in the top of your refrigerator - can lead to toughening and
rapid yellowing. Since storing peas is obviously such a problem, put them in your "dinner
the same day" category.
Although English peas and fava beans share so many traits both delicious and exas-
perating, there is one big difference between them, and that is the maturity at which they
should be picked. Peas are best when they are fully mature, so that the little seeds have
swollen in the pod. (Petits pois, or baby peas, are not immature peas, but a separate variety
that is naturally smaller.)
Fresh favas are best when they are truly babies. Tiny fresh favas are all the rage in
Rome during the spring, where they are picked straight from the pod and eaten with moist
springtime pecorino Romano, a salty sheep's milk cheese that perfectly offsets their sweet-
ness. (Feta would be a good alternative.) Favas of that size are so small that the peas don't
bulge in the pod. As long as the peas are less than 1/2 inch in diameter, favas can be
cooked without peeling their outer skins. Another indicator of freshness is the color of
the skin: when favas are young, the skin is green; as the bean matures and toughens, the
skin turns white. Unlike peas, favas are useful even when they are overmature and starchy.
Cook large favas until they are soft and then puree them with a knob of butter.
