Wild Mushroom & Fava Bean Crostini

Wild mushrooms and fava beans are the perfect combination of forest and field, robustly earthy and delicately sweet at the same time. This dish offers some of the best that the late summer harvest has to offer, flavors so good and so satisfying that it’s worth a little extra effort.

These elegant crostini are equally well-suited to a casual dinner party, a light lunch or a healthy between-meal snack. While there are several steps involved in making them, they’re not difficult to prepare, and to make things even simpler, we’ve broken the recipe down into three parts: the mushrooms, the favas and the bread. Each component can be prepared separately in advance allowing the crostini to be quickly assembled just before serving.

Like many of our recipes, this one is very flexible, allowing the substitution of whatever ingredients you have at hand.  Don’t have wild mushrooms? Use some flavorful cultivated varieties instead.  Fava beans not in season? Cooked cannellini beans make an excellent substitute.  As always, we encourage you to be bold!  Experiment until you find the perfect combo of ingredients and flavors that is just right for you.  Remember, cooking is a very forgiving art AND we can always eat our mistakes!

Sautéed Wild Mushrooms

We used lobster and chicken of the woods mushrooms in our version of this recipe, but you can use any combination of wild mushrooms that you like.  If you don’t have access to wild mushrooms, use some flavorful cultivated mushrooms – oyster, cremini or shiitake.

• 1 lb mixed fresh wild mushrooms – chicken of the woods, lobster, chanterelle, porcini etc.
• ½  cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
• ½  cup dry white wine
• 24 fresh sage leaves
• ½ tsp truffle oil, plus more for drizzling
• Sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Clean the mushrooms by brushing away any soil or forest debris.  If the mushrooms are very dirty, give them a quick rinse under cool running water and pat dry.  Trim away any bad areas and then coarsely chop the mushrooms and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized sauté pan until it shimmers, but does not smoke.  Deep-fry the sage leaves by dropping them into the hot oil a few at a time.  Do not overcrowd the pan. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, carefully remove each leaf as soon as it becomes crisp, about 30 – 45 seconds.  Drain the leaves on paper towels and set aside.  Turn off the heat and allow the oil to cool slightly.  Remove all but 2 Tbsp of oil from the pan.  Reserve the extra oil for other uses – it will be pleasantly infused with the flavor and aroma of sage.

Return the pan to medium high heat and add the garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 minute, then add the chopped wild mushrooms.  Continue to cook for 10 – 12 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the mushrooms have become soft and are slightly browned.  Add the wine and continue to cook until the wine has been completely reduced.  Remove from the heat, add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the truffle oil.

Fava Bean Purée

• 1 cup fava beans, removed from their pods
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Prepare an ice water bath.  Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the shelled favas and boil until the inner bean is bright green and tender, but still firm, about 2 minutes. Quickly drain the favas and immediately plunge them into the ice water bath until cool. Peel away the outer skin and discard; place the beans in a small bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Add the fava beans and stir, then add the ½ cup of water and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the favas are quite tender, but not mushy, and most of the water has reduced.   Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Transfer the fava mixture to a food processor and pulse until fairly smooth, but with a few chunks remaining.  The mixture should be similar in texture and thickness to mashed potatoes. If it’s too thick, mix in a little water to reach the desired consistency.  Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

The Bread

• 1 loaf rustic bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

Crush the garlic clove and drop it into the olive oil and let it steep for at least 30 minutes.  Use a good, sturdy rustic loaf, something with some substance and a chewy crust.  Brush each slice generously with the garlic-infused olive oil.  Grill each piece of bread over a wood, charcoal or gas flame, turning several times to toast them evenly.  If a grill is unavailable, put them on a baking sheet and pop them into a pre-heated 400 degree oven, turning once, until they are crisp and nicely browned, about 7 minutes.  Set aside.

Assemble the Crostini

Generously spread each toasted bread slice with the fava mixture.  Heap the sauteed wild mushrooms onto the crostini and top with one or two crisp sage leaves.  Drizzle with a little truffle oil and sprinkle with additional sea salt if desired.

Many of the ingredients used in this recipe, and other recipes on the Earthy Delights Blog, can be purchased online at our retail website, Earthy.com. We welcome you to visit the Earthy.com website to view our extensive selection of hard-to-find ingredients and our complete Recipe Collection of over 500 tested recipes.

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