Vicia faba 'Fève de Séville'

Everybody, reading this article, will undoubtedly understand that 'Fève de Séville' means 'Fava bean from Seville'. Yet, despite its name, the variety of fava bean is not confined to Andalusia.

This variety of fava beans has shaped the way broad beans are grown and eaten across Southern Europe. It also reflects the long agricultural links between Spain and its northern neighbours, especially France, where the Fève de Séville became a familiar presence in kitchen gardens from the nineteenth century onward.

Fava beans have been cultivated in the Iberian Peninsula since antiquity, but the Fève de Séville likely emerged as a regional selection adapted to the warm, dry conditions of southern Spain.

Its defining traits, such as compact pods, early maturity, and reliable yields, made it ideal for farmers who needed a dependable spring crop before the scorching summer heat set in. These qualities also made it attractive to French growers, particularly in the southwest, where climatic conditions sometimes mirrored those of Andalusia.

By the late 1800s, French seed catalogues began listing Fève de Séville alongside other Mediterranean introductions. It was valued for its exceptionally early or premature development, also called precocity. Gardeners could sow it early and harvest before the main-season varieties were ready. This made it a favourite in regions with mild winters, such as Brittany, Normandy and the Atlantic coast, where early vegetables commanded good market prices.

In the twentieth century, as seed regulation became more and more formalised, the Fève de Séville continued to circulate through French horticulture, even if it never achieved the fame of Aquadulce or the longpod varieties. Its endurance owes much to its robustness and culinary versatility. The beans, smaller and firmer than most northern types, were well suited to rustic dishes. Think of purées, stews, and the simple boiled fèves traditionally eaten with salt and olive oil.

It's Simple comme bonjour, as the French so eloquently say.