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A close-up shot of Exquisite Fava Bean Pasta on a white plate.

Exquisite Fava Bean Pasta Recipe

Yes. It’s “healthy” in that it’s loaded with fresh, seasonal vegetables and the pasta is from scratch so it lacks any preservatives or stabilizers or what have you. The vegetables are grown by farmers who practice organic and permaculture principals and they’re all sourced from local producers. And eating it brings me pleasure which is good for the body, mind and spirit (if you believe in that kind of thing).
But mainly, more than healthy, it’s exquisite.
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Pod
  • Pot
  • Frying Pan
  • stirrer
  • giant bowl

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 lb Fava Beans
  • 2 pieces Shallots peeled & finely chopped
  • 2 pieces Cloves Garlic sliced
  • cup Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Pat of Butter
  • 1 piece lemon juice
  • 1 piece Chili thinly sliced
  • Handful of Shaved Parmesan Cheese
  • Coarse Sea Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
  • 2 pieces Big Handfuls of Linguine Noodles homemade pasta or Scratch Slow Roasted Sweet Potato Pasta to serve.

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the fava beans. This does take a bit of time but it’s very easy. Snap off the top end of the bean and gently peel off the seam (like peas). Then gently wiggle your fingers inside to open the pod. Pop out the beans and discard the shells to the compost.
  • Now here’s the time consuming part: the beans are tricky and have a second shell. You’ll need to bring a large pot of water to a boil, dump the beans in, boil for about 30 seconds to loosen the second casing and then immediately drain and run cold water over the beans to stop the cooking process and maintain the brilliant green color. Now you can carefully made a tear in the outer coating near the “bum” of the bean (when you see them you’ll know what I mean) and just gently pinch the bean out of it’s casing. Tada! Bright green broad beans! Again, discard the shell. Set beautiful beans aside.
    A top view shot of delicious Exquisite Fava Bean Pasta on a white plate in a wooden table.
  • The rest is fairly quick and straight forward. Set a large deep frying pan over medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Once hot (but not smoking), add the shallot and garlic. Soften for a couple of minutes and add the fava beans and season with salt and pepper. Stir often and cook until beans are tender, about 7 minutes, followed by the fresh lemon juice.
  • As the beans cook, set a medium to large sized pot full of water over high heat and bring to a boil. As it begins to roll, add enough salt that it tastes like sea water. Chuck in the pasta, stir and cook until el dente (3 to 4 minutes for fresh pasta, 6-7 for dried). Drain, reserving some of the cooking liquid and throw the pasta in with the veggies. Mix in the pat of butter and toss to coat. If it feels very dry, add a Tbsp or 3 of the pasta water in with the mix.
  • Dish up on individual plates or pour the whole lot into a giant bowl. Top with Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of really good olive oil if you have it, and serve with pepper on the side.
  • Eat
Keyword Pasta

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