By: Molly Moss
Gluten Free or GF Adjustable, Salads, Sides, Veggie Heavy

Burrata, fava, and fennel salad with mint pistachio pesto

Simple spring eating at it’s best: tender fava beans and crunchy shaved fennel get all dressed up with some torn burrata and a luscious pistachio mint pesto. Fava beans are not in season for much longer, so its worth it to go through the two-step peeling process. Enjoy them while they last!

Recipe Notes

  • Favas have a fuzzy outer pod in addition to a white rind that encapsulates the inner bean. Both these layers need to be removed to enjoy this dish. It takes a little time, but it goes relatively quickly once you get the hang of it.

Burrata, fava, and fennel salad with mint pistachio pesto
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Burrata, fava, and fennel salad with mint pistachio pesto

Course: SaucesDifficulty: Easy
Makes

3-4

servings

Simple spring eating at it’s best: tender fava beans and crunchy shaved fennel get all dressed up with some torn burrata and a luscious pistachio mint pesto. Fava beans are not in season for much longer, so its worth it to go through the two-step peeling process. Enjoy them while they last!

Ingredients

  • For the mint pistachio pesto

  • 1 cup picked mint leaves

  • 1/4 cup pistachios, roasted

  • 1 small clove garlic

  • ⅓ cup olive oil

  • ¼ cup freshly grated parmigiano

  • Zest and juice of ½ lemon

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • For the salad

  • 2.5 cups shelled fava beans (about 2 pounds in their pods)

  • 1 small head fennel, very thinly sliced (a mandolin is your friend here)

  • 1 lemon

  • Olive oil

  • 8 oz burrata

  • Chili flakes

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  • For the mint pistachio pesto
  • Combine all the ingredients in a small food processor and pulse until a paste forms. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
  • For the fava and fennel salad
  • Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it heavily. Add the fava beans to the pot and cook until bright green and tender (they will float), about 3-5 minutes. While the beans cook, prepare an ice bath. When the fava beans are ready, drain and immediately place in the ice bath to cool.
  • Drain the fava beans and carefully remove the outer white peel of each bean, revealing the bright green inner bean. You can usually poke a finger nail into the peel and then pop out out the bean. Season the shelled beans with salt and set aside until ready to use.
  • Combine the fava beans and shaved fennel in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in a generous glug (or two) of olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon. Toss to combine, then taste to adjust seasoning.
  • Spread the salad out onto a serving platter. Tear the burrata and scatter the pieces around the plate. Top with the pesto (you may not need all of it) and a sprinkle of chili flakes.

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