Q. I’ve heard a lot about fava beans lately. Can you tell me more about them? Where can they be purchased?

A. Also called broad beans or horse beans, fava beans are popular in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. They have a dense, meaty texture and a stronger, earthier flavor than most other dried beans. Fava beans are available fresh (in spring to early summer), dried, canned and frozen.

Before being eaten, fava beans need to be peeled twice—once to remove the outside pod and again to slip off the tough skin covering each bean. If they're fresh, the skins may be tender enough to eat; if not, they usually slip off quite easily after being slit open with a knife or your thumbnail. If the beans are dried, they need to be soaked for several hours or blanched in simmering water for 10 to 15 minutes to remove the skins. (You may also be able to find dried fava beans whose skins have already been removed; these are sometimes called habas.) Then they're ready to be cooked.

If you can’t find fava beans at your grocery store, inquire at food co-ops, health food shops or specialty food stores. If you have a local farmers market, look there for fresh fava beans. To order fresh fava beans, contact Melissa’s at www.melissas.com.