Last May Tiffany and I searched Berlin’s Winterfeldplatz market in vain for fava beans (we found plenty of strawberries and asparagus as expected) so we could make fava purée with dandelion greens. When searching for the recipe this time around, I discovered it actually calls for dried favas. So I made this one for fresh fava bean purée instead and decided to save my dandelion greens, which I happened to have from my CSA, for my favorite salad: salade lyonnaise with dandelion greens, bacon and croutons (minus the egg of course).
I couldn’t bring myself to buy as many beans as I knew I would need to make a batch for more than one person. The recipe actually calls for 5-6 pounds; I bought just over a pound.
Next time I may be tempted to look for frozen favas, although it appears they aren’t easy to find. I didn’t actually mind the work, but 5-6 pounds of fresh beans would have cost $15-18, which is too much to make them a staple. And I’ve decided that I’d prefer to eat favas more often than once a year.
VIVRE POUR MANGER 
That is a very nice photo spread. It does seem like a lot of work, and money, for what turns out to be a snack.
Is there any place where fava beans are cheap? If this map of “broad bean yield” relates at all to lower cost through higher production, then it looks like Southern England might be my best “local” bet.
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Thank you. I made a collage in Picasa based on your gallery advice.
Cool map. It explains why frozen favas can apparently be found in the US at Asian and Middle Eastern grocery stores. I think my beans came from Mexico.
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