Broad beans and chicory, a traditional Apulian recipe

Now proceed with the preparation of our broad beans and chicory, Apulian style
The dried broad beans must be soaked after having removed the bark. After an hour, they should be put in a pot with enough water to cover them and cooked over low heat. After about an hour, add a little salt and, if necessary, a little more water. Once cooked, add plenty of oil to the beans and work them with a wooden spoon until you get a thick puree. Some people add a large peeled potato to the beans right at the start of cooking. This helps to obtain a more fluid puree. Sometimes I also add some small pieces of bread in there and it is delicious … my mother-in-law’s recipe 🙂
In the meantime, wash the chicory well under running water and let it drain, then clean it, removing the hardest part with a knife, the white part at the bottom that holds the leaves together. Also remove the most damaged leaves, keeping only the nicest ones. Blanch the chicory quickly in boiling salted water for a few minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. As soon as they are nice and soft, drain them and keep them aside.
Most people divide the beans into two plates, one with the beans and the other with the chicory. I like to put them together in a single plate and add a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or, if you prefer, even spicy oil.
There are also those who, before serving, first pass the puree of beans in a pan with plenty of oil and fry them… but of course it loses a bit of lightness. There is nothing left to do but enjoy our Fava beans and chicory traditional Apulian recipe