Andalusian Habas con Jamón

From the garden

• 2½ lb fava beans in the pod, shelled · about 2 cups of shelled beans
• 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

From the pantry

• 4 oz serrano ham or thick-cut bacon, cut into short strips
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (pimentón)
• ⅓ cup dry white wine · a dry sherry is the Andalusian pour
• 4 eggs
• 3 tbsp olive oil · divided
• crusty bread (optional) · for serving
• salt · to taste; the ham is already salty
• black pepper

1. Shell the favas and boil them 2 minutes in salted water, then cool them under cold running water. Leave thumbnail-sized beans as they are; pinch anything bigger out of its pale skin, since this pan cooks too fast to soften it.
2. Warm 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wide skillet over medium heat and cook the ham until the edges crisp and the fat runs, 3–4 minutes. Lift it out with a slotted spoon and leave the fat behind.
3. Cook the onion in that flavored oil with a pinch of salt until soft and sweet, 6–7 minutes. Pull the pan off the burner, stir in the garlic and paprika for 30 seconds, then set it back on low heat before the paprika scorches.
4. Pour in the wine, let it bubble down by half, then add the favas with 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook over low heat about 5 minutes, until the beans are tender and glossy with the pan juices.
5. Fry the eggs in the remaining oil in a second pan until the whites set and the edges frill. Return the ham to the favas, fold in the parsley, and season with salt and plenty of black pepper.
6. Spoon the beans onto plates, slide an egg onto each, and break the yolk into them at the table: the yolk is the sauce. Serve with bread for whatever is left in the pan.