Parmesan baked fava bean chips
Around Christmas time – yes, I am going to mention Christmas in March – my family always eat a lot of ‘nibbles’. In other words, we avoid having to make actual meals by surviving solely on little canapés and snacks. As long as you eat enough of them (which we definitely, definitely do), they’re all you need. It’s actually one of my favourite things about that time of year. Anyway, this year (technically last year I suppose, but that feels weird to say), we had some of these little crispy chips that we couldn’t get enough of, and it turned out they were fava bean chips! So obviously I had to have a go at making my own.
I was actually pretty shocked that these turned out so well – I love beans, but they’re not exactly something I usually have just on their own. Once they’re roasted, however, they become the perfect snack – crunchy little nuggets that you can flavour with whatever you fancy. I guess they’re similar to nuts in function, but these are much nicer – they end up much crispier. Plus, since I baked them, they’re healthier than the big bag of crisps that I tend to eye up around Christmas (and every other day of the year), while still tasting amazing and totally hitting the ‘crunchy snack’ spot.
One more benefit before I must force myself to stop: they’re really cheap to make – a bag of fava beans is only a couple of quid, and will make about 4 big batches.
I used split dried fava beans from Hodmedod, a small company based in Norfolk. I love the fact that the beans are British-grown – plus they’re organic, so I can feel good about myself for multiple reasons. PLUS they support bee-friendly farming… my smugness is now off the charts.
(P.S. Hodmedod also do a tinned dahl, amongst other things, which is ridiculously tasty, and makes a great quick dinner with some rice)
Making these fava bean chips couldn’t be easier – cook your beans in some water on the hob, and then roast them with whatever flavourings you fancy. That’s literally all there is to it.
This time I went for parmesan flavour, so I just added some finely grated cheese for the last ten minutes or so of roasting (the whole batch ends up tasting like crispy cheese, it’s in-cred-ible), along with a little squeeze of lemon for added flavour. I also made smoked paprika flavoured ones (not pictured), which were equally awesome, if a bit neon orange.
I actually made three batches of these within a week. Talk about moreish.
- 130g dried split fava beans
- 2tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 1tbsp vegetarian parmesan-style cheese, finely grated
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- Boil the fava beans in plenty of water for 20-30 minutes, until tender but not mushy. Drain the beans, and toss them in the oil with plenty of salt and pepper. Spread them out on a baking sheet (in a single layer if possible), and roast at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for around 25 minutes. You must give them a stir every ten minutes or so to ensure they cook evenly.
- After 25 minutes, add the parmesan and lemon juice, and roast for a further 15 minutes or so, until golden brown and crispy. Leave to cool before serving.
Looking for another crunchy, cheesy snack recipe? Try my parmesan biscuits!
You can bake uncooked beans instead of boiling them ?
Have you tried this? I don’t think it would work.
I can only find un-split fava beans. Tried once, and seems very hard to bite. Almost lost my molar. :(
That’s a shame – I guess un-split fava beans will take a lot more cooking to soften them up, since they’re twice as thick!
Just the recipe I was looking for! Thanks so very much! Can’t wait to read more of your blog. I imagine you would be a very fun neighbor to have if only I lived across the pond.
Cheers!
Haha yes I do cook quite a lot, you’re welcome round any time ;)
Have you looked in oriental food markets? You also could use dried split fava beans for bessara, a dip or soup, or even for falafel. Falafel made completely from fava beans or one part fava and the other part chickpeas is the Egyptian way of making falafel and personally I highly recommend it over plain chickpea falafel!
This looks so fantastic! I just love all of your recipes! :)
i never would have thought about roasted fava beans, but these look so crunchy and good!
Looks awesome
Wow, those look good! I’ve never cooked fava beans before so hopefully I can find them here in the States. (I’m guessing Hodmedods won’t be available here.) The parmesan has me drooling…
Haha I loved this: “PLUS they support bee-friendly farming… my smugness is now off the charts”. I love the name of the company, too! Sounds so British :)
These baked bean chips look the like perfect snack to munch on- much better than the potato chips we went through this week- zoiks! Have a good weekend!
These look scrummy. Never heard of these beans before, so if I cannot get them here (Ireland) I will try to order them by post, Thank you for experimenting with different flavours.
Oh these look good! I’m going to add a pinch of spice to mine too I think. But also will look up Hodmedods – coincidentally a friend was talking to me about them in relation to a discussion I’ve been having about quinoa on the blog, and the ethical dilemma which is growing up around its world wide consumption. Hodmedods are sourcing an Essex supplier of home grown quinoa. And as I now live in Norfolk I should know about this firm! Thanks for mentioning them, and sorry to high-jack your post!
ps still struggling with getting pinterest button onto blog will get friendly-techie person on to it!
Ooh I didn’t know that about Hodmedod and quinoa, that’s great! It’s a really cool company :)
These look like such a fantastic snack! I come from a family of nibblers too…..I can see these going over well when my mom and my fella’s parents visit next week. Crunch crunch crunch.
Any advice if the beans after being baked are still so hard to bite or chew on?
I’d say they either weren’t boiled for long enough, or were roasted for too long! Were they soft before roasting?
Wow!! What a genius little snack! I love favs beans, these look incredible.
These look scrummy – I had not realised that they would be so easy to make myself! These will definitely be added to our snack list!!