spaghettini with fava bean purée

spaghettini in crema di fave

4 to 6

Ragusano is an unpasteurized cow’s milk cheese from Sicily. It is savory and pungent when aged. Caciocavallo, also a southern Italian cow’s milk cheese, can be substituted.

View full image

Ingredients

Fine sea salt
3 1/2 cups shelled fresh fava beans
(3 1/2 to 4 pounds in pods)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
1/2 cup thinly sliced white onion (from 1 small)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth, heated to a simmer
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghettini or spaghetti
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 pound aged Ragusano or Caciocavallo cheese, coarsely grated

Instructions

Bring a 5- to 6-quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add beans and cook for 1 minute; immediately transfer with slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking; reserve the pot of water (water will be red from beans). Drain beans; gently peel and discard skins.

In a large saucepan, stir together beans, 2 tablespoons oil and onion. Heat over medium heat until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add ¾ cup hot broth, bring to a simmer and cook until beans are tender, and liquid is mostly absorbed, about 5 minutes.

Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and pulse until beans are roughly chopped. Transfer purée to a small saucepan, stir in remaining 6 tablespoons broth, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cover to keep warm.

Return the reserved pot of water to a boil; add pasta and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet or wide heavy pot, heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat just until warm; remove from heat, stir in parsley and cover to keep warm.

Drain pasta and add to skillet with oil; heat over medium-high heat, tossing to coat, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add all but 1/4 cup of the cheese and toss to combine.

Divide fava purée among serving bowls. Top with pasta and remaining cheese. Drizzle with oil. Serve immediately.

June 2010

keywords:

spring, fava beans, pasta

Rate this recipe

your rating |

average of 1 rating

Comments [2] | Add your comment

I made this for my Italian friends in Roma this summer and it was a HUGE hit. Of course, fresh fava beans were a bonus. But the frozen worked wonderfully. A little challenging finding good frozen favas here. Bought some at a middle eastern market, but they're pretty old and had to toss about 1/3 of them. Very easy. Good with whole grain pasta as well.
Posted: August 15, 2010 20:06 by ASromaFAN
This was excellent. I made one crucial mistake. I used about 3 1/2 cups of fava beans when taken out of their rubbery casing, which was significantly more fava beans then 3 1/2 unshelled. Therefore, we ended up with a very tasty fava bean paste. I has to substitute Ricotta Salata cheese because I couldn't find Ragusano or Caciocavallo cheese.
Posted: July 11, 2010 01:00 by rpparisi