Spiced Fava Bean Stew (Estofado de Habas Con Especias)

Spiced Fava Bean Stew (Estofado de Habas Con Especias) is a Bolivian recipe of beans, patios and beef that makes a flavorful stew that your friends and family will enjoy.

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Spiced Fava Bean Stew (Estofado de Habas Con Especias)

This wonderful Bolivian recipe is the rich man’s breakfast, the shopkeeper’s lunch, and the poor man’s supper.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Bolivian

Keyword Beans

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Resting Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 55 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Mike Gonzalez

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry fava beans
• 5 medium yellow potatoes 10 small yellow potatoes
• 1/2 lb round steak
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 onion
• 1 tomato
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp paste of red spicy pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 small bunch of scallion
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 small bunch of scallion

Instructions

• A night before measure the dry fava beans into a pot. Add boiling water and cook for a minute and drain the water. Cover with cold water and let it rest overnight.
• They will double the size and the skin should be easy to peel. Peel coverings and set aside
• Put the ingredients together for the sauce
• Cut the meat by hand in thin small sliced pieces.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them in 3 pieces or keep them in a piece if they are the small.
• Peel and dice the onion and dice the tomatoes into small pieces.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil and add the red spicy paste, garlic and cumin. Cook for 2 min and add the onion, cook for 5 min until onion is clear.
• Add the meat and mix. Cook for another min and add the tomatoes
• Cook for about 3 min until meat is tender, add the oregano, salt, sugar, pepper and parsley.
• Mix and add the fava beans.
• Add the chicken broth and the potatoes and mix. Cover the pot and cook until potatoes are cooked. It’s so much better if you use small potatoes, they will cook faster and they are going to be bite sized.
• If it dries during this process, add more chicken broth or hot water.
• Serve warm with rice or just by itself. Top with scallions or green onion that are cut and washed. Enjoy!

More on the Flava Bean

Fava beans (Haba), also commonly known as “broad beans,” are a flat, oval, green bean that grows inside a large, inedible pod. A translucent skin also surrounds each individual bean and should be removed prior to use, especially in mature beans.

The Fava bean is thought to have originated in the Middle East and North Africa around 6000 B.C., and has been an important staple of the Eastern Mediterranean diet since ancient times. While it is a less widely known association, Fava Beans have been part of Chinese cooking since around 5,000 B.C., and are especially utilized in the Szechuan region, where they are called simply “Szechuan beans.”

Today, Fava beans are widely cultivated all over the world, both as a cover crop for silage and for human consumption. The plant is very hardy and can withstand harsh climates, but it prefers temperate and cool growing conditions. In the U.S., where it grows widely in temperate parts of the East and West Coasts, it ripens in mid-spring and it is often considered a harbinger of warmer temperatures to come.

Basic Flava Bean Preparation

Carefully sort beans and rinse thoroughly. Soak beans overnight, then squeeze each bean to remove the outer skin. Rinse and place in a large pot and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 2 hours. This bean produces foam, so skim the water regularly while cooking.