Santorini Fava Recipe (Greek Yellow Split Pea Puree)

The first thing to clear up is the name. Greek fava is not made from fava beans. It is made from yellow split peas, and on Santorini specifically from a local variety, Lathyrus clymenum, which has protected designation status and has been grown there for thousands of years.

The second thing is that it does not need a blender. Split peas simmered long enough collapse entirely on their own, and beating them with a wooden spoon while adding olive oil gives a silkier result than a food processor, which makes it gluey.

It arrives on every Santorini table as a meze, warm, with raw onion and capers on top and enough olive oil pooled over it to make you hesitate. Do not reduce the oil.

Key preparation steps

1. Rinse the split peas and skim the foam thoroughly during the first ten minutes.
2. Simmer with onion until completely collapsed, around forty minutes.
3. Beat in olive oil and lemon by hand while still hot.
4. Serve warm, topped with raw onion, capers and more oil.

Why it is called fava when it contains no fava beans

The word comes from the Latin faba and was originally applied to broad beans, which were the pulse being pureed this way in antiquity. Over time the name attached to the dish rather than to the ingredient, and when yellow split peas became the standard pulse the name stayed put.

So in Greece, fava means this dish. If you want actual broad beans you ask for koukia. It causes endless confusion in translation and there is no fixing it now.

Santorini fava is made from Lathyrus clymenum, a legume unique to the island's volcanic soil, with protected designation of origin status. It is sweeter and finer than ordinary yellow split peas. Ordinary split peas make an excellent dish and are what most of Greece uses.

Skimming, and why it matters

For the first ten minutes of simmering a grey foam rises steadily. Skim it off and discard it, repeatedly, until it stops forming.

That foam carries the compounds responsible for the slightly bitter, muddy taste that badly made fava has. Skimming properly is the single biggest difference between a clean, sweet puree and a dull one.

Do not salt until the very end. Salted early, the split peas take much longer to break down.

Why not to use a blender

Split peas cooked until fully collapsed do not need mechanical help. Beating them hard with a wooden spoon while drizzling in olive oil emulsifies the mixture into something light and silky.

A food processor overworks the starch and gives a heavier, slightly gummy texture, and it also incorporates air that makes the fava look pale and foamy rather than golden.

If the peas have not broken down enough to beat smooth, they simply need more time and a little more water. Give them another ten minutes.

How to serve it

Warm, spread into a shallow bowl with the back of a spoon so it forms a slight well, and the well filled with olive oil. It sets firm as it cools, so if you have made it ahead, loosen it with a splash of hot water and warm it gently.

The toppings are not decoration. Finely chopped raw red onion, capers and lemon cut through the richness, and the contrast between the soft warm puree and the sharp raw topping is the dish.

On Santorini you will also see it topped with fried onions, or with grilled octopus, which is one of the best things to eat anywhere.

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