Spring
Pasta con Fava Beans
In the U.K. fava beans (broad beans) are a little like Marmite, one either loves them or hates them.
Not in Italy, they are loved, and are a much anticipated Spring vegetable, often eaten raw with Pecorino cheese on May Day, a celebration that Spring has arrived.
In homes and restaurants you’ll find a variety of fava bean dishes being prepared, fava bean salad, fava bean lasagna, fava bean soup, fava beans in every way possible!
For everyone who follows us, you know we’re always wanting a quick lunch as there’s always so much work to be done, so here’s our quick Fava Bean Pasta recipe.
A quick note before we start, to peel or not to peel the fava beans? I’d say peel, a little tedious but well worth it as the outer skin can be chewy . Some of the beans I had were larger, these I didn’t peel but cut into three, knowing that as they cooked the bean would come out of the outer skin which I could easily remove.
Ingredients
300g of fava beans, peeled.
2-3 large chopped spring onions.
3-4 large sage leaves roughly chopped.
Dried chilli flakes, depending on taste.
A good olive oil!
Salt and pepper to season.
Grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese.
Dried spaghetti.
This cooks very quickly so start boiling your pasta water before starting the sauce.
In a large pan heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, adding the fava beans, sage, onions and chilli flakes, at the same time add the pasta to the boiling water.
Simmer the fava bean sauce over a medium heat stirring occasionally, if it starts to look a little dry, add a ladle of pasta water.
When the beans are tender gently stir in some grated Pecorino or Parmesan and season.
Drain the pasta and stir into the fava bean sauce, serve adding more grated cheese and a good drizzle of Sant’Elia Extra Virgin Olive Oil.