Fava beans...fave or Bacelli Fave have several lives in Italy. When they are young and fresh, we just pop them out of the shell and eat them with fresh Pecorino cheese called Marzolino. This cheese is special because of the wild grasses and herbs that the sheep eat in spring! Fabio Picchi serves a fabulous appetizer in his Cibrèo Restaurant--cubes of Pecorino and fresh fava beans bathed in the best oil with salt and black pepper, to be eaten with a spoon! Later in the season when the beans get a little bitter, you must them peel the inner bean and remove the bitter part, eating only the sweet inner bean. The fava bean is also served cooked, with pancetta, onions, and garlic. One of my favorite recipes for fava beans is Garmugia, a soup from Lucca with fava beans, artichokes, asparagus, and peas with pancetta and olive oil, garlic, and a rich broth! Give you any ideas? Click here to return to the Primavera newsletter. NEWSLETTERS Primavera Tuscan Chocolate Valley I Scream, U Scream, We All Scream for...Gelato! Slow Food, Slow Travel Sagre, Sagre, Sagre! Tuscan Virgins Fall Festivals La Notte di San Lorenzo Fireflies & Fireworks I Love EWE! Andrea's Christmas Dinner Addio Bistecca alla Fiorentina! Guelfa e Ghibellini Tartufi, Feste & Sagre Piatti del Buon Ricordo COMING SOON! Carrara: Marble & White Prosciutto