Fave à la monégasque is the principality's spring broad-bean dish, a simple seasonal stew of the first fresh favas.
Spoon up fave à la monégasque — bright green broad beans, tender and sweet, glossed in a light tomato-and-onion sauce with little nuggets of bacon. Bite: the favas are buttery and faintly bitter-sweet, the tomato fresh, the bacon adding savory depth, parsley lifting it. A simple, seasonal Riviera side that tastes of the first warm spring days.
Blanching and peeling the larger favas removes the tough skins for a sweeter, more tender bean. A little rendered bacon and slow-cooked onion build a savory base; brief simmering keeps the beans bright green and just-tender rather than grey and mushy. A seasonal dish that relies on the beans' freshness.
Variations
Meat-free with savory herb. With artichokes added. With peas. Finished with mint. Cooked down softer. As a cold salad.
On the Palate
Where Fave a la Monégasque sits in the Monégasque flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 30 min active + 30 min waiting
- 114 min
Pod 800 g fresh broad beans; blanch and slip off the skins of the larger ones.
Watch outBlanch briefly and slip the skins off the bigger beans — the tough grey jackets stay chewy and bitter otherwise.
- 25 min
Dice 80 g bacon and render in 2 tbsp olive oil.
- 36 min
Add 1 chopped onion and soften 5 min.
- 45 min
Stir in 2 chopped tomatoes and cook 5 min.
- 53 min
Add the broad beans and a splash of water; season with salt and pepper.
- 618 min
Cover and simmer gently 18 min until the beans are tender.
Watch outSimmer just until tender and still bright green — cooked too long they turn grey and mushy and lose the fresh sweetness.
- 72 min
Stir through chopped parsley (or savory).
- 82 min
Serve warm as a side or light starter.
