As is often the case with braising, it is hard to get every ingredient to cook just the right amount. The recipe we were working with called for fava beans, green garlic, and English peas in the pod, none of which were available at our mid-week farmers' market. We substituted sugar peas and extra green onions, resulting in an acceptable, but not excellent dish. For the record, here are the steps.Follow the standard procedure for cleaning and quartering large artichokes. Be ruthless with tough and fuzzy parts! Store the quarters in water with a juice of one lemon, to prevent discoloration. Boil for 2 minutes and shell the fava beans, if using. Trim and slice sugar peas or shell English peas. Cut fennel bulbs into wedges. Trim root ends and discard dry leaves from green garlic and green onions.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté fennel and (drained) artichokes pieces, sprinkled with salt, for a minute or two. Add green garlic, green onions, and 1 cup of water. Cover and braise on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until artichokes are tender (~20 min). If using unshelled sugar peas, you may want to add them after 10 min or so. If using fava beans and English peas, add them at the end and cook for just a couple of minutes. Stir in chopped fennel fronds, salt, and olive oil.
- 5 green garlic stems
- 2lb / 1kg fava beans in the pod, shelled
- 1lb / 0.5kg English peas in the pod, shelled
or, instead: - 3lb / 1.5kg sugar peas
- 4 large artichokes
- 1 lemon
- 2 fennel bulbs with fronds
- 5 green onions
- olive oil
- salt