Fresh fava beans are worth 3-step prep

Fresh fava beans require commitment: Their prep involves a three-step dance of shelling, blanching and peeling. And that’s before you even cook them.

It’s a good thing they make their annual debut in spring, when I’m so excited about seasonal produce that I don’t mind rolling up my sleeves and getting to work. Especially when the result tastes so nutty, creamy and, well, green.

I’ve been waiting for a fava bean recipe to catch my eye in the latest crop of spring cookbooks. One book in particular was easy to spot: “Weeknight Vegetarian” by Ivy Manning. I was eager to see whether Manning and I have approaches to vegetable-focused cooking in common, too.

The book, inspired by the recipes she created for her vegetarian husband, focuses on seasonal, fresh vegetables. “Cooking this way is inherently quick,” Manning writes, “because you don’t need to do much to the ingredients to make them shine.”

Agreed. Well, except for those favas for her Middle Eastern-style pilaf, along with spinach (which I snipped from my garden), almonds, lemon zest, spices and more. She’s quick with a shortcut suggestion: frozen, shelled favas, available at some specialty and natural foods markets. If that doesn’t pan out, try edamame.

Or just roll up your sleeves. It’s spring, so open a window, feel the breeze and start shelling, blanching and peeling.

It doesn’t take as long as you might think; I took 2½ pounds of pods down to 1¼ cups of bright green fava beans in a mere 20 minutes. (Confession: I had a little help from my boyfriend, who was as motivated as I was. Hunger — for dinner and for spring’s bounty — will do that to you.)

Fava Bean and Spinach Pilaf With Fried Halloumi

4 to 6 servings.

If you can’t find fresh fava beans — or don’t want to prep them — look for frozen, shelled favas at natural food or Middle Eastern markets and defrost them before using. (Or you can substitute frozen shelled edamame.) Adapted from “Weeknight Vegetarian: Simple, Healthy Meals for Every Night of the Week,” by Ivy Manning (Weldon Owen, 2014).

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup slivered almonds

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium leeks, white and light-green parts, halved lengthwise, rinsed and thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups basmati or other long-grain rice

3 cups homemade or no-salt-added vegetable broth (see recipe at washingtonpost.com/recipes)

1 teaspoon dried dill

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 dried bay leaf

1 1/4 cups shelled, peeled fava beans (from 2 1/2 pounds pods; see headnote and NOTE)

8 ounces baby spinach, chopped (4 cups)

8 ounces halloumi cheese, sliced into 1/4 -inch slabs and patted dry

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or more as needed

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring, until the butter and almonds are golden brown and smell nutty, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape into a bowl.

Warm the oil in the same saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, until the rice is hot and evenly coated.

Add the broth, dill, cinnamon, allspice and bay leaf; once the mixture comes to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Uncover; gently fold in the favas and spinach. (It will seem like way too much spinach at first, but as you fold it in, the spinach will wilt.) Cover and cook until the rice is tender, about 8 minutes. Let it stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, fry the halloumi slices in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until lightly browned, 2 minutes per side. (If you’d like, you can grill them outdoors or on an indoor grill pan.)

Stir the parsley, sauteed almonds and lemon zest into the rice. Add the salt and pepper, taste, and add more salt as needed, keeping in mind that the cheese is quite salty. Discard the bay leaf and serve the rice warm, with the halloumi on the side.

Note: To prepare fava beans in the pod, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Shell the fava beans by snapping off the tip of each pod and pressing at the seam to open the pods. Pop out the beans with your thumb. Once the water boils, add the beans and cook them until they are just tender to the bite, 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on their size. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Peel off and discard the tough light-green skin from each bean.

Nutrition Per serving (based on 6): 540 calories, 23 g protein, 65 g carbohydrates, 23 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 550 mg sodium, 12 g dietary fiber, 7 g sugar