Chef Hélène Darroze’s Favorite Healthy Spring Dish Revealed!

“Today, we’re going to celebrate spring,” Hélène Darroze proclaims in this YouTube video. In the video, the chef prepares a dish she first encountered during her teenage years at a fair in her native Southwestern France: “After having a great time eating with friends, we got a bit peckish. We stumbled upon a small restaurant that served févettes. It was an incredible experience!” she recalls. This culinary memory has since become a signature dish for her. She goes on to explain how she enhances this spring vegetable!

The Ingredients of Hélène Darroze’s Févettes

These crunchy, slightly sweet beans are an excellent source of plant proteins and are rich in fiber. Plus, they have a low glycemic index, making them perfect for a healthy energy boost!

• 1.5 kg of févettes
• 100 g of peppered belly pork
• 18 small new onions
• 2 red bell peppers and 2 green bell peppers
• 50 g of black olives
• 20 g of duck fat
• 20 cl of chicken broth
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Salt and Espelette pepper
• 1 bouquet garni

How to Prepare Hélène Darroze’s Févettes

To make peeling the peppers easier, the chef wraps them in aluminum foil and bakes them in the oven at 160°C (320°F) for about 15 minutes.

1. Shell the févettes. Blanch them for 2 minutes in a pot of boiling water, then cool them in an ice-water bath. This will make it easier to peel them (remove the outer white skin).
2. Cut the belly pork into lardons. Sauté them in a pot with the duck fat until crispy. Then add the onions, sliced lengthwise in halves. Allow them to brown while stirring well.
3. Add the previously peeled and sliced peppers to the pot.

4. When the mixture starts to soften, add the févettes, whole peeled garlic cloves, and pour in the chicken broth. Let it cook for 5 minutes.

Remove the herbs, add the olives, a pinch of Espelette pepper, and your dish is ready to enjoy!