– cups of cold water and cook over medium-high heat. Once it starts boiling, reduces heat to a simmer, and partially cover with the lid. They will take somewhere around 40 minutes to be tender.
– While you cook the beans, prepare the “recado”: heat one tablespoon of oil in a medium-size skillet for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and onion and keep cooking until the onion is transparent. Mix in the chopped tomato and stir, cooking for another 5 minutes or until the tomato mixture starts to thicken.
– Stir the tomato mixture frequently to avoid it from sticking to the skillet.
– Add the tomato mixture to the fava beans before they finish cooking to let all the flavors combine. Stir in the drained nopales, season with salt and pepper, and keep cooking until the beans are tender or at the desired consistency. You can use a bean masher to mash some of the beans and give the soup a creamy consistency. Mashed fava beans will thicken the soup.
– Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. I love to serve this soup with slices of French bread to dip into the soup.