Wash the fava beans, put them in a pot, and fill the pot with water. Bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave beans covered and in their water for at least an hour. Reheat the beans in their water and continue cooking until the beans are very tender - probably 30-60 minutes, depending on the beans. They're done when you get a mushy sensation biting into one.

Rinse the beans in cold water and remove the skins. Probably the skins of most of them have split by now and the soft inside of the bean can be easily squeezed out. You may have to make a split in some of them yourself with a fingernail. The tough shells are indigestible and should be discarded.

Coarsely mash the fava beans with the olive oil, lemon juice, dill, green onions, salt, and pepper.

This is good as a side dish but also as a filling for sandwiches or a topping for crostini.

Fava beans are huge brown beans with tough shells that have to be removed before the beans can be eaten. I buy mine at the local Indian spice store.