Here is the first thing worth knowing about fava, and it is the thing that confuses almost everyone the first time they encounter it: there are no fava beans in it. In Greek, fava refers to yellow split peas, not the broad beans that the word fava means in English. The dish is a thick, smooth, golden purée made from those split peas, slow-cooked with onion until they break down completely, then blended with olive oil and lemon into something that sits somewhere between a dip,

Sharing plates have become one of the most common formats in modern restaurant dining, and yet they still manage to confuse people more than almost any other way of eating out. The questions are always the same. How many dishes do we need? Do they all arrive at once? What if one person wants something the other does not? Is this going to be enough food? Should I be building a starter, a main and a dessert in my head, or is this something else entirely? These are completely re