Favata
Description
During the Carnival season and in the months of March and April, when the broad bean harvest begins, favata is prepared all over Sardinia—especially in the province of Sassari, in Cagliari, and in the area of Santa Teresa di Gallura.
This dish, now well-known throughout the region, combines pork, Pane Carasau, and broad beans, which are slowly cooked in warm water along with wild fennel and red chili pepper.
By following the steps in our recipe, you will create a delicious and inviting dish, perfect for your friendly gatherings with friends and family.
Ingredients
to recalculate the ingredient amounts
- Preferred dryness 400 g
- Savoy cabbage 400 g
- Sardinian dried sausage 400 g
- Pork pancetta 200 g
- Pork ribs 400 g
- Pork rind 300 g
- Grated pecorino 50 g
- Wild fennel 30 g
- Dried tomatoes 50 g
- Chili pepper 6 g
- Carasau Bread 150 g
- Garlic 12 g
- Salt 12 g
Instructions
- 1 To prepare favata, it is necessary to soak the broad beans overnight before using them, covering them with water in a large pot.
- 2 The next morning, change the water for the broad beans, cover with a lid, and cook over medium heat after adding salt, pork rind cut into pieces, pork ribs cut into small pieces, and pork belly chunks.
- 3 After 1 hour and 30 minutes of cooking, add the savoy cabbage, already washed, dried, and cut into pieces, the Sardinian sausage sliced into thick rounds, the dried tomatoes, the chopped wild fennel along with the garlic cloves and chili pepper.
- 4 Replace the lid and let everything cook for another hour, adding a ladle of warm water if the mixture dries out too much.
- 5 After the indicated time, remove the garlic cloves, sprinkle with a tablespoon of grated pecorino cheese, and serve the favata on plates lined with slices of Pane Carasau.
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Variations
If you want to further enrich your favata, you can add fresh vegetables cut into small pieces to the soup, such as potatoes, carrots, or tomatoes.
If you prefer to give the soup a slightly milder flavor, you can replace the garlic cloves with finely chopped onion. The result will be just as delicious.
Often served with carta musica, a thin, crispy, and very light flatbread more commonly known as pane carasau, it is also excellent when accompanied by fragrant slices of pane guttiau.
Did You Know?
Broad beans are a versatile and healthy food. A symbol of traditional rural cuisine, they were often enjoyed in the past served with pork lard, which gave them a pleasant and unmistakable flavor.
Favata from Sardinia is considered, in fact, a humble dish with very ancient origins, ideal to serve during cold winter days.
Over the years, this legume has remained a widely used ingredient in cooking. Ideal to enjoy as a standalone dish—such as the classic boiled broad beans—it can also be used to prepare or enhance delicious side dishes.
Like all traditional specialty dishes, favata is very easy to prepare. The original recipe calls for easily found ingredients, and just a few simple steps are enough to make a soup with an intense and bold flavor and an irresistible aroma.
Arborea menus
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Come and discover the most traditional recipes of our homeland, Sardinia. We’ve prepared some simple menus for every day and some more elaborate ones for special occasions.
