Fava bean and egg salad

As a scientist I can't help myself but weigh fava beans before and after shelling them every time they cross my path. I had blogged about the experiment here already. And yesterday as usual I took my scale out. This time we had 3 pounds of pods, 1 pound 4 ounces of beans with skin and just under 14 ounces of beans once skinned (28% of the pods' weight). We had enough for 3 generous servings.


The following recipe is inspired by this one, from Marmiton.org.

• 3 lbs fresh fava beans (in pods)
• 2 sprigs thyme or savory
  
• 3 brown eggs
• 3 calçot onions (or green onions)
• 2 to 3 oz (60 to 85 g) goat cheese*
• 1 tbsp Banyuls vinegar (or sherry vinegar)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes then plunge them in cold water.
2. Remove the dark leaves and the outer skin of the onions and slice them thinly. Place them at the bottom of a salad bowl and cover with 1 tablespoon vinegar.
3. Shell the fava beans. Boil them with thyme (or savory) in salted water for 5 minutes, then plunge them in cold water to stop the cooking. Pop the beans out of their pale green skin. Place them in the salad bowl.
4. Peel and slice the eggs. Add them to the salad along with the cheese, shaved or diced depending on how hard it is.
5. Season with salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss.
6. Serve or refrigerate.
   

* I used a fresh California goat cheese rolled in herbs that I had handy. I think a hard goat or sheep cheese would work even better.