This recipe comes from Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey. I’ve been itching to make it for months but have had to wait for Spring and the return of fresh fava beans. I don’t usually go for making my own pie crusts but I’m so enchanted with Najmieh Batmanglij’s book in general and the picture of her “Sicilian Fava Bean, Garlic and Dill Crostata” in particular that I thought I’d give it a try.

I prepared it on a weeknight, which might have been a bit of a mistake because it took longer than I thought it would. The crust came out perfectly. At first, it was a little friable and hard to manage. I ended up putting it into my glass pie dish in several pieces which I then squished together while in place.

Unfortunately, I didn’t end up with enough fava beans from my 2 pounds of fresh pods. It was a simple matter of large pods with few beans. Because of this shortage, I added a bag of frozen edamame. They’re not as subtle as fava so I expect that the dish tasted differently from the original recipe.

You have the option of using a half cup of vegetable shortening in the crust rather than butter. I used soy milk instead of heavy cream for the filling, too. Hegui was highly skeptical about the shortening and gave me a hard time about it. However, my doctor keeps reminding me to lay off foods with cholesterol and this already has three eggs (I hate egg substitutes). I like soy milk. Plus I used organic shortening without trans-fat. That’s got to be good for you, right?

Finally, by the time it was out of the oven it was already eight o’clock. We were too hungry to let it cool. Since it tasted even better the next day for lunch, I’d recommend making this the day before and letting it cool to room temperature.

The dill was very aromatic and filled the whole apartment with its inviting smell. This would be marvelous served at a buffet or perhaps for a picnic in wine country. We had ours with a simple tomato salad and sautéed broccoli rabe.

Rustic Fava, Edamame and Dill Tart

For the dough:

1½ cups flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
½ cup vegetable shortening
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. ice water

For the filling:

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
5 cups fresh fava and/or frozen edamame
1 bunch chopped fresh dill
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. sugar
2 eggs
1¼ cups soy milk
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

To make the dough:

Pulse the flour, salt and baking powder in a food processor. Add the vegetable shortening and pulse until mixed well. Add the egg and vanilla. Pulse for 20 seconds. Add water until dough firms up but before it becomes a ball. This may take more water. Remove dough from food processor to a floured surface. Using a rolling pin, flatten into circular form and then line round baking dish. Do your best. Pierce the dough a few times with a fork. Cover with aluminum foil and put in freezer for at least thirty minutes. (Najmieh says you can freeze it for several weeks.)

Preheat oven to 425F.

Remove crust from freezer. Keep covered with foil and bake for fifteen minutes. Remove from oven and remove foil.

To make the filling:

Remove fava from pods. Boil them for a few minutes to soften membranes around each bean. Remove from water and rinse to cool. Peel membrane off each bean. If using edamame, cook per package directions.

Sauté onion in vegetable oil for about five minutes on medium heat. Add garlic, beans, dill, salt, pepper and sugar. Sauté for five minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Beat eggs, soy milk and ¼ cup of cheese together.

To assemble tart:

Place remaining cheese into partially baked tart shell. Pour bean mixture on top. Cover with egg mixture making sure to get all air bubbles out.

Reduce oven temperature to 375F.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes until crust is a golden brown. Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Enjoy!