Recipes: Stonefruit & Fava Bean Salad with Earth Sprout

Posted by Claire Ragozzino

One of the greatest parts of food blogging is being able to connect with incredible artisans, makers and culinary creators  from around the world.  And if there’s one thing I’ve seen in this community – there are some seriously talented women out there shaping the way we eat, think, and feel about food! This year, I decided to launch a new series on the Vidya blog to highlight some of the kitchen goddesses out there who inspire me each day with their ingenuity of ingredients and artful presentation of nourishing cuisine.  This monthly “Seasonal Recipe Share” series will give us a peek inside each bloggers home recipe box and the many ways they each connect with their health through seasonal eating and living.

This month I’m honored to introduce you to Elenore Bendel Zahn of Earth Sprout. As a self-proclaimed tree hugging gardner, vegetarian chef and food-obsessed photographer, this girl won my heart over from the moment I found her work. She writes in a very naked, real way that captures the essence of what it means to live this lifestyle. Hailing from the south of Sweden, I dream of the day we can gather in her garden and spend a long afternoon catching up in the kitchen and over a shared meal. In this special guest post, Elenore speaks to what we both long for – closer connection for our global community of like-minded sisters. While we’re a sea apart, I’m grateful to have a space where we can come together and share our passion. Welcome Elenore and her Summer Stonefruit + Fava Bean Salad on the go recipe…

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“It goes without saying that my core beliefs when it comes to being here on earth, co-creating with intention and sharing in love are a big parts of who I am. That said, they are also ever-changing. They float around in a dance that changes rhythm and sometimes a specific idea is more prominent, gets more attention and is more fast moving then others.

When I first shared this absolute fave seasonal salad of mine on Earthsprout I riffed a little on the thought that our home is where our heart’n soul thrives. That while people and places might remind us and make us think we need them to feel at home, the really real home is always within us. Radical, eh? However, these past months I’ve also felt like while that’s true to a great extent I have found some exceptions. There are some special people scattered around this glorious earth, whom I feel carry a part of my really real home in them. To me in this moment, it’s mostly women. Sisters that I see bravely living fully as all of themselves and being all kinds of rad. Women I feel so deeply connected to it’s ridiculous and beings I so wish I lived in walking distance to. Claire is without a shadow of a doubt one of these women and having her ask me to pop by Vidya is a great honor.

Our heart-space home expands when we allow ourselves to fully feel. To feel love, compassion, joy for others, gratitude, awe and other instant soul-growth factors. I thank you, the women who remind me of this. You carry a piece of my home with you. Intertwined in a global community.

To experience ones core believes stretch, evolve and twirl around in ecstatic disco dances is huge. Connecting with sisters and co-creators of this earth makes that happen. Thank you, Claire for this loving and transformative platform for us to do just that. To dance, grow and be a wild’n crazy ..and of course eat sexy summer salads until the sun sets.”

STONEFRUIT + FAVA BEAN SALAD IN A JAR

Bringing good food on the go does not have to be rocket science. Pouring a yummy dressing at the bottom of a jar and then layer your favorite salad components and finish off with a generous amount of leafy greens (this way they wont turn soggy). When it’s time to eat, turn the jar upside down onto a plate and dinner is served. You’ll have the leafy greens at the base and the dressing will infuse all layers thanks to gravity. These ingredients are a reflection of farmers markets in July but you can create variations of this salad all year round.

Lime Mint Dressing
1 small handful mint leaves
1 lime, juice + zest
1.5 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 spring onion

Rinse, peel and finely cut the spring onion (save its greens for later use), add onion and all other ingredients to a mortar and grind using a pestle until well combined. You can also use an immersion blender to get the job done but it won’t be as tasty. Pour into the bottom of your jar of choice.

Salad
1 small cucumber, julienned
1/4 cup pistachios (shelled, raw and unsalted)
1/2 avocado, pitted and peeled (1 whole if you’re hungry)
2 apricots, pitted and sliced
1 nectarine, pitted and sliced
2 cups leafy greens ( I chose arugula, watercress and matché lettuce)
25-ish whole fava beans (will yield around 2/3 cup once peeled)
1 tsp virgin coconut oil (for frying)
1 clove garlic, minced (for frying)
pinch high quality salt (for frying)

Remove the fava beans from their pods and peel off their light green leathery skin. This takes a while but is easily done using your fingernails and some patience so sit back, let go of your thoughts and have a little veggie-tation. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan on medium heat, add garlic and cook until golden. Now add the fava beans and the salt and fry on for no more then 1-2 minutes. These beans are fresh and will cook in no time at all. The goal is just to remove the raw taste and infuse them in garlic. Set aside.
3. Start layering your jar. Julienne cucumber first, then fried fava beans, stone fruits (apricots, nectarine, avocado), crushed pistachios and greens.

How to eat it
Turn the jar upside down onto a plate and dinner is served. You’ll have the leafy greens at the base and the dressing will infuse all layers thanks to gravity. If you won’t have access to a plate at your on-the-go location then bring the dressing in a smaller jar and pour it over the salad at last minute. Enjoy!

Makes 1-2 servings