The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Fruit and Vegetables => Topic started by: Hilary on June 05, 2020, 06:58:01 AM
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Vicia fava, broad bean, κουκιά
Seen growing in the Royal Botanic Garden, Madrid in April 2018.
My old neighbour used to grow a few of these plants every year among the wild flowers and perennials which used to flower in their turn
Broad beans are mentioned in
THE BALANCE OF NATURE IN A MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN
by David J. Bracey
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 75, January 2014
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Very familiar vegetables to me. My mother used to grow them in this field/garden and eat them uncooked during fasting periods. I did not/do not eat them because I am allergic to them.
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Not a vegetable I am very fond of but was given some very young beans one year shortly after coming to live in Italy and told to eat them raw, with some fresh bread and sprinkled with salt and vinegar. I was dubious but have to admit they were delicious.
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I remember when I first came to Italy seeing the notices going up in the shops "We sell fresh Broad Beans" and was convinced that they were advertising them. But then I wondered why were the greengrocers only advertising broad beans and not all their other fresh produce? "Favismo" was the answer. I then discovered a new English word; favism, believe ot or not. By law in Rome (all Italy?) anybody who sells fresh broad beans must notify clients with a notice next to the entrance. More about favism here https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/favism.
They are eaten raw in spring here with pecorino cheese and are considered an aphrodisiac . It seems, from this article at least, that they are a wonder food https://www.diagnose-me.com/treatment/broad-beans.php
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I received a bunch of 'flowers' this morning from my Syrian refugee friend. In Italian they are called 'i fiori di zucca' in Greek 'Anthus' and in English pumpkin flowers. They are sold at the grocers but one must go early in the morning to be lucky to find them as they are very popular and sell out quickly. I know the Italians fill them with mozzarella, anchovies and capers then dip them in batter and then fry them. They are seasonal flowers and they have been used, for as long as I remember, to produce vegan dishes so carrots, courgettes, mint, rice and ripe tomatoes are used. Everything that should grow in a Cypriot garden except the rice!
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They are lovely done the Italian way you describe Charithea but rather laborious and so it is a real treat when I tackle them
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I used to make a delicious Mexican soup with chicken stock and puree-ed squash/pumpkin flowers. I haven't made it since I left Mexico, as pumpkin flowers are not readily available here in NZ.