Bio Alberti’s heritage varietal of small fava beans are the latest in their line of traditional grains and legumes from the Umbrian countryside. These Amelia dried favas have already been peeled, to reduce cooking times, so there is no need to soak them. Fava beans are bursting with protein, iron, fiber, vitamins, and plenty minerals for a real nutritional punch. Amelia fava beans are extremely versatile in the kitchen, and add a healthy boost to soups, stews, and salads, but find their traditional expression in the hearty peasant dish par excellence: fava bean puree or macco di fava. ...read more
Macco di fava is perhaps the most famous Italian recipe for these mighty beans, and while the dish has Sicilian origins, it is common in different iterations across central and southern Italy, as well as in the wider Mediterranean world. To make her fava bean puree, Paola Alberti starts with a soffritto of celery, onion, and carrots, adds the dried beans, and then pours in vegetable broth gradually. Once cooked, the beans can be blended or left whole, depending on your texture preference! Serve with sauteed leafy greens, like chicory or chard, toasted bread, and plenty of good olive oil.
The Albertis collected the heirloom fava bean seeds from a farmer in the village of Amelia, just one hour south of their Poggio Aquilone, and began cultivating them because of their usefulness in their crop rotation process; fava beans enrich the soil with nitrogen, and therefore help renew the lands on which they grow all of their grains and legumes.
In addition to fava beans, Guido and Paola also produce lentils, chickpeas, cicerchie, black beans, borlotti beans, cannellini beans, farro dicocco, farro monococco, and orzo. Their mission is to carry on their local traditions with products that are healthy, delicious, and real, using indigenous and ancient varieties whenever possible.
