The Seattle Times - PERHAPS NO OTHER vegetable has inspired as much dread and desire as the fava bean. Over time, some have thought favas bring good luck, bad luck, health and abundance, or death and destruction. Who would have thought the tiny delicacy gracing early-summer menus has such a controversial past, full of legends and folklore?
Today favas enjoy nothing short of a cult following, judging from their prevalence in restaurants and from the squeals at farmers markets when fresh beans are in. Prized for their rich and nutty flavor, the beans are high in protein, iron and other minerals. The tall, bushy stalks produce white and black flowers as intricate as miniature orchids. The oval beans are well-loved in risotto, pasta and salads or on crostini as a spread. But new this legume is not.
The fava, or broad, bean is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world, a longtime staple in Asia, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Throughout history people have eaten favas — and feared them. Ancient cultures believed the bean possessed a supernatural force that could be beneficial or harmful, according to “Food and Evolution: Toward a Theory of Human Food.” Classical literature associated them with death.
One of the most famous fava critics in history was the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. In the 6th century B.C., Pythagoras hated the beans and forbade his followers from eating them. Whether he believed the beans were toxic, erotic, flatulence-inducing or dirty because they were used to cast votes, he avoided them at all costs. According to legend, he was killed in an ambush when he refused to run into a fava field to flee attackers.
Today favas enjoy nothing short of a cult following, judging from their prevalence in restaurants and from the squeals at farmers markets when fresh beans are in. Prized for their rich and nutty flavor, the beans are high in protein, iron and other minerals. The tall, bushy stalks produce white and black flowers as intricate as miniature orchids. The oval beans are well-loved in risotto, pasta and salads or on crostini as a spread. But new this legume is not.
The fava, or broad, bean is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world, a longtime staple in Asia, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Throughout history people have eaten favas — and feared them. Ancient cultures believed the bean possessed a supernatural force that could be beneficial or harmful, according to “Food and Evolution: Toward a Theory of Human Food.” Classical literature associated them with death.
One of the most famous fava critics in history was the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. In the 6th century B.C., Pythagoras hated the beans and forbade his followers from eating them. Whether he believed the beans were toxic, erotic, flatulence-inducing or dirty because they were used to cast votes, he avoided them at all costs. According to legend, he was killed in an ambush when he refused to run into a fava field to flee attackers.