Sopa De Habas-Fava Bean Soup

Sopa de habas, fava bean soup. Habas, also mistaken for lima beans, look like oversized beans and can vary in color. Lima beans are different. Typically canned or frozen fresh when they are green. This recipe can be enjoyed any time of the year, but I always remember to prepare it during Lent. Skies the limit on what you want to add in as far as vegetables. I would have liked adding some kale or spinach with some smaller pasta. If you don’t observe Lent, add in some longaniza sausage or even ground beef would be tasty!

I Truly Think That The Most Simple Foods Are The Most Delicious!

My most vivid food memories consist of recipes or ingredients that were simple. Tacos dorados de picadillo( fried ground beef tacos), queso con chile(semi soft cheese in salsa), Tostadas de frijoles (refried bean tostadas), Tortas de aguacate (avocado sandwiches), migas con huevo (tortilla and egg scramble) and a fresh made flour tortilla with butter and a pinch of salt! There are so many more too! Mom cooked a lot of pinto beans, but not habas(fava beans). It was one of those Mexican ingredients that I discovered on my own and learned to prepare.

If I Browsed Your Pantry And Refrigerator, What Staple Ingredients Would I Find There?

Here is what you would find in mine. Dry beans, rice, pasta, some canned tomato products, dried chiles, lots of spices, dried herbs, corn husks, masa harina, all baking ingredients, bottles of hot sauce, Mexican chocolate, Mexican candy and more! In the refrigerator, there is Mexican cheese, crema, tortillas, pork manteca, lots of produce, homemade salsas, adobos, dried shrimp, carne seca, leftovers and tequila, lol! You never know when the mood strikes to prepare a cocktail for a photo shoot! That’s my story!

Don’t Stress When There Is Excess Ingredients In Your Pantry!

Excess beans? Cook the beans and freeze them in 1-2 cup portions for future meals like frijoles charros. You could even blend them until creamy and freeze them that way. Too much rice? You can store dried rice in the freezer. But there are so many recipes like arroz Mexicano, arroz con leche, horchata, albondigas, arroz con pollo, con camarones and simply adding 1/3 c rice to a variety of soup recipes is delicious! I used to stress about too many dried chiles, but not anymore! Many of my recipes call for a variety of dried chiles. When I’m not using in recipes, I toast and grind them to prepare chile powder. Or I prepare adobo and enchilada sauce, then freeze them. The flavors are so much better after a few months.

If You Are Not Using A Pressure Cooker When It comes To Cooking Beans, Plan Ahead!

My first thought was to cook these beans in my pressure cooker. But not every one owns a pressure cooker and I really wanted to get more accurate cooking times on the stove top version. Plus I have never cooked fava beans in the pressure cooker. Pinto beans cook in about 30 minutes in my pressure cooker. Whereas black beans typically take 3-4 minutes longer. At least that has been my experience. I have had good results most times when using the pressure cooker. But, I will say, there is something so satisfying about low and slow pinto beans in the olla de barro (Mexican clayware bean pot). If you are cooking them on the stove top, make sure you soak the beans for a few hours or even better overnight. For the pressure cooker, I clean and rinse the beans and then straight to the pressure cooker. What has been your experience with cooking beans? I honestly have never used the crockpot, but I know of some people that prefer that cooking method. I will try it sometime and report back to you.

Let’s Get To The Recipe!!