I’ve heard about these suckers for a very long time. Raves. Raves. Raves. And as diligent as I am in eating what’s in season, I sometimes miss very short-seasoned produce. But this time around, in what one vendor labeled as the last available weekend, I scored a quart of fava beans.

Lord these beans take a lot of work. I didn’t follow a recipe, just the quick advice Mt. Pleasant Farmers’ Market manager Rebbie called out to me before 80P and I schlept back to our apartment.

She commanded that the process required 2 beers and a friend. One beer for releasing the beans from the pod and the next for releasing the bean from its skin. Because of my bachelorette party induced hangover, I skipped the beers but still persuaded 80 to be my friend in the process.

Sesame Enhanced Fava Bean Puree

First I took the fava beans out of the pod. After the de-podding, I boiled the beans for a minute and a half, shocked them, and then removed the skins. A not difficult, but slightly annoying process, especially as waves of hangover fell upon me. In case you’re wondering why I’m going through this multi-step process on what should have been a lazy weekend afternoon, it is because I wanted to bring a snack for the World Cup watching party.

Anyway, once the beans were prepared I tossed them around in a hot pan that contained oil infused with smashed garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Sprinkled with salt and pepper.

In a small food processor add the beans and garlic, making sure to scrape all of the flavored oil into the processor as well, pour in more oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

The mixture won’t be smooth like hummus, more textured and segmented. You could stop there, but I wanted to make it funky. I decided to stir (not process) in some Asian flavors: sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, chopped spring onions (green part only) and toasted sesame seeds. Top with coarse sea salt.