Pasta with Broad Beans and Rucola (Rocket)
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 45 min.
Pasta con Fave e Rucola, a hearty dish of pasta with fava beans (broad beans) and rucola (arugula, rocket) and easy to prepare. You can use tagliatelle, fettucine or pappardelle.
Broad beans are one of the oldest crops in agriculture, along with lentils, peas and chickpeas. Cultivation goes back to 6000 BC. In the US the Italian term fava (singular, the plural is fave) is used.
Ingredients:
- 450 gr (1 lbs) fresh tagliatelle, fettucine or pappardelle pasta
- 450 gr (1 lbs) fresh or frozen broad fave beans
- 2 shallots finely chopped
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
- 125 ml (1/2) dry white wine
- 125ml (1/2) cup chicken stock
- 250 ml (1 cup) light heavy cream
- 1 bunch of rucola
- Pecorino Romano shavings for garnish
Preparation:
If using fresh fava beans (broad beans), cook them until tender, 1-2 minutes. Drain and rinse them under cold water until cooled, then pop them out of their shells. If using frozen ones, cook according to package instructions. Set aside about 4 tbsp of the cooked fava beans (broad beans). You will need them later to make the sauce.
To make the broad bean sauce, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a small saucepan and sauté the shallots until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce it to half. Add the 4 tbsp fava beans (broad beans) and cook them 5 minutes further. Add some chicken stock to cover the bean/shallot mix and let it simmer until very soft, almost a purée. When done and while still warm, run it through the blender. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil, the grated Pecorino Romano cheese and some freshly ground black pepper. If consistency of purée is still too thick add more chicken stock. Transfer mixture to a small saucepan and stir in enough light cream little by little to obtain a smooth sauce. Taste for salt and pepper again. Keep it warm.
In the mean time cook the pasta (tagliatelle, fettucine or pappardelle) in salt water until "al dente", fresh pasta needs shorter cooking time than the packaged variety.
Return fava beans (broad beans) to a saucepan and add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Stir to coat. Warm it gently.
To assemble the dish, we now put the 3 components (cooked and drained pasta, fava beans and sauce) together: Add the drained pasta to a saucepan and toss it with the bean sauce. Add the fava beans (broad beans) and rucola. Toss it gently again. Divide pasta over 4 plates and serve it with freshly shaved Pecorino Romano cheese.