When we went to a produce shop on Kings Street, we found giant bean pods and got curious enough to buy some. When we came back home, I searched what they were. The answer was broad beans. They were also called fava beans. I have used fava beans some times before, which were in cans or frozen. I guess I have never met fresh fava beans before.
I took beans out from the pods, quickly blanched them and removed the outside shells. Hello, beautiful emerald beans! The blanched fresh broad beans can be enjoyed in salad or added in any dishes.
I thought that adding them risotto would be nice. Then, I realized I might not have enough beans to do so. I ran to grocery and bought asparagus so that I could mix them in risotto along with beans. Then I happened to see scallops. We haven't had scallops long time. They would make the dish more substantial. I bought a pack of scallops. While I was cooking risotto, adding all three - beans, asparagus and scallops - into risotto seemed too much. After all, beans were mixed in risotto, scallops were placed on the risotto and asparagus were decorated around the risotto. Broad beans were supposed to be the star of the dish, but the output didn't look like that. Anyway, the dish was tasty. J liked it. Only he pointed out that the beans were undercooked, too crunchy. I thought their texture were fine as fresh beans. Poor beans, I should give them another chance to shine in a different dish.
