{Don’t they know it’s rude to stare?}

They’re hee-ere….not the extraterrestrials, the fava beans.  They are just vegetables after all so don’t worry about them tying you up and holding you hostage or overthrowing the government or anything like that.  Just don’t look them straight in the eyes or they might hypno-bamboozle you flat in your tracks. If they do manage to outsmart you while your cooking, then you had it coming, dummy.  The weirdest part I admit is the googly eyes, I don’t remember that from last year — maybe they’re evolving, rapidly. Scary!

{Just look at them trying to intimidate me on my own porch!  Cigarette butts everywhere — such the riff raff.}

When I lived on the east coast we got Gypsy Moths this time of year. Out here in California we get fava beans (pretty sweet I know).  This recipe would be all wrong with caterpillars though, so for all you New Englanders, nice try but no substitutions.

{I’m so sorry to tempt you with this perfect bite, talk about rude!}

I poached this recipe from my Australian friend Haalo’s blog Cook Almost Anything at Least Once.  Her recipes and photos are always stunning and full of inspiration.  I kept the the ingredient proportions the same only I substituted fava beans, feta, and basil for the original pea, Haloumi, and mint:

250g fresh fava beans
1 ear fresh corn, cut from the cobb
½ cup milk
2 eggs
30g cornflour
100g plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
250g feta, cut into 1cm cubes
1 handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
olive oil, to shallow fry

Once you have corralled and shucked the wild favas, saute them until they are just tender along with the corn, let cool.  Puree half the veggies until smooth.  Mix together the milk, eggs, flours, baking powder, then fold in the remaining fava beans and corn, feta, basil, salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat.  Add heaping tablespoons of the mixture to the pan in batches, pressing down to flatten slightly.  Flip them once when nice and golden and set on paper towels to drain.

{Salty, crunchy, summer-time little cakes…}

The feta is soft and melty and the basil adds a sweet light flavor to the rest of the ingredients.  I loved these crispy little cakes so much I ate them cold at dawn the next day, with my bare hands standing up in the dim glow of the refrigerator’s interior light.

{Eat them on a plate with a fork if you’re the civilized sort.}

{tags fava beans fava bean cakes recipe}