[header] How to cook fava beans [title] Remove the outer shell. [step] Snap open each fava bean pod and pop the individual beans out of the shell. [substeps] Locate the string/stem side of the pod. 
Snap the tip, peeling the string away in the process. Continue peeling away the string down the length of the pod until you reach the very end, then use your fingers to pry open the pod along the newly exposed seam.