Fava Bean

Scaffata This is a wonderful Roman spring dish that can be made when peas and favas in their shells are young and sweet. The name comes from the word scaffare — "to shell" in Roman dialect. It is especially good when served with roasted spring lamb or goat. The outermost, less tender leaves of a head of romaine, which you may not want to use in a salad, are perfect for this dish.

A fusion of flavors and technique from two cuisines makes this main course taste new. The cooking method is based on an Italian fricassea made with egg yolks and cream; the combination of favas and mint is Middle Eastern. The resulting dish is absolutely delicious. Serve with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

You can use frozen baby lima beans (with the same delicious result) instead of the fresh favas, which are harder to find.

If you can't find fresh fava beans, use edamame (fresh green soybeans in the pod). You'll need to buy two pounds to yield the 3/4 cup for the recipe; do not peel. What to drink: Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Spanish white made from Albariño grapes.

(MINESTRA DI CAMPAGNA) Creativity with simple ingredients is one of the themes of Sicilian cooking. There's no better example than this bean and vegetable soup, which some say evolved from food that fifteenth-century galley cooks made for mariners. Serve an island dry red wine such as Corvo with this.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Peeled, split fava beans for this Egyptian falafel are available in most Italian or Middle Eastern grocery stores. Ta’miyya is served with tehina.

On the Cycladic islands, homemade salted pork flavors most vegetable dishes. Pancetta makes a good substitute here.

Here's a good example of Thomas Keller's culinary magic: Simple flavors come together spectacularly in this special dish from The French Laundry in Napa Valley.

In this recipe we used fresh baby lima beans (the frozen ones are excellent, too), but you can substitute any other fresh young shell beans such as fava or cranberry beans.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

This salad was inspired by a couple of dishes our food editors encountered at restaurants in Rome.

An appetizer that is simple to make, delicious and very appealing.

One of the very best things about this stew is its practical nature: If you blanch the vegetables, boil the potatoes, and make the infused broth a day ahead, this dish takes only 15 minutes to cook.

A scaled-down seafood boil you can pull off on a weeknight with nearly any quick-cooking vegetables.

Think of this as carbonara minus the eggs but still with massive amounts of flavor from guanciale, black pepper, and Pecorino.

Piled high with softened leeks and fresh fava beans, this tartine might—might!—make you forget about avocado toast.