I scored at St. Philip's Farmers' Market on Sunday finding the last of the fava beans. Like fennel, the fava bean is a misunderstood and often maligned vegetable - tough, tasteless they say - heresy! With a lovely nutty, buttery flavor, this ancient bean is loaded with protein. It is often difficult to find really fresh ones and it is a pain to shuck (do you shuck or hull a bean?) and in the case of ones that have not come directly from field to table you'll have to parboil the fat inner bean and slip off its outer coat.
I know I had fava beans as a kid but probably put them into the same category as brussel sprouts back then - yuk, gross and boiled into gray submission. My grown-up self encountered fava beans in June 2004 in the Italian town of Castel Gandolfo - better known as the home of the pope's summer palace. We were enroute to Sardinia for the Transit of Venus but because we had made a gift of an hydrogen alpha telescope to the Vatican Observatory, were invited to stop by. Our host, one of the Jesuit astronomers who divides his time between Tucson and Castel Gandolfo invited us to join him at his favorite home away from home restaurant for dinner - we were welcomed as family and invited to sit at the big table where huge platters of raw fava beans took center stage. Picked that morning the beans were young and tender. It didn't take me long to get into the swing of shelling, popping out the fat, pale green beans and nibbling them along with Sardinian Pecorini and jugs of ice cold Frascati wine. Even I, a non believer, came close to thinking myself in heaven!
The following recipe is not original to me - I think it has been a springtime staple in Italy for years. My stash of fava beans, harvested in Arizona in October were up to the challenge. You can find frozen fava beans in some markets. The other essential ingredient for this dish is a creamy , white Ricotta Salata - a bit like a dry Italian version of Feta - it is crumbly, slightly salty and a perfect foil for the richness of the beans. I found it this morning not in the Italian deli to which I drove 17 miles but in the supermarket just up the road! Do NOT substitute fresh ricotta - it's nothing like Ricotta Salata. If you can't find any, substitute Feta - but not without first searching for the real thing.
I love simplicity in ingredients and preparation. This pasta dish with just three main components takes under thirty minutes.
Spaghetti with Fava Beans and Ricotta Salata
Serves two
- About a 1 Cup of shelled fava beans - (1 pound plus in-pod beans)
- 8 oz. good quality dry spaghetti
- 4 oz. crumbled ricotta salata
- Olive oil, fresh ground black pepper
Remove the beans from the outer green pod. Set the water to boil for the pasta. Use a smaller pan to bring salted water (1/2 teaspoon sea salt) to the boil, drop in the beans and boil 2-3 minutes. Immediately drain. Check the beans between finger and thumb - if the outer shell makes no effort to slip off then probably your beans are fresh enough not to need this step. If the shell slips off easily, then quickly shell them and set aside.
Cook your pasta following package directions. As the pasta cooks, heat a little olive oil in a wide shallow skillet, drain the pasta, reserving up to 1 Cup of the water, toss the shelled beans in the olive oil, add the pasta to the skillet, drop the crumbled cheese over all, add the reserved water - start with half a cup, bring to a gentle boil, toss lightly to incorporate ingredients- check to see if it needs additional salt. Serve sprinkled liberally with freshly ground black pepper and topped with a little more cheese and the fresh mint.
Note that Ricotta Salata will not melt like a Parmesan will.
Being the neurotic type that I am when I suggest someone else follows my recipes I tried replicating this concept using asparagus and fresh little frenched green beans - no cigar. Flavors were in competition with the Ricotta Salata. And then Eureka! at 6 a.m. I had a brainstorm and it worked. I made the pasta minus fava beans and folded in freshly diced avocado at the last minute. Brilliant , though I say so myself and yes, a little weird for breakfast but who's looking! hey, and fortified with a pasta breakfast, dog and I are off for a walk.
PASTA TIP: to get a creamy, guilt free pasta sauce, save some of the cooking water. heat a little olive oil in a wide skillet, toss in your freshly drained pasta and cheese, pour in the water, stir gently until the cheese melts.
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spicy peanut dipping sauce left-over from a scallop and shrimp laced noodle bowl the night before, apples, two kinds of cheese and a bottle of chilled pinot grigio. The fancy picnic backpack was already loaded with plates, cutlery, wine glasses and napkins. I pulled seldom used hand-thrown pottery "chalices" from a high shelf - perfect for the soup.
thing missing was cake but good friends, a perfect day, and a serendipitous feast more than made up for that. A high altitude power nap on the quilt, and brisk walk around Hulsey Lake wrapped up a memorable afternoon. No tantrums, no, "I don't like that", no, "can we go now, I'm bored". Just old friends having fun. Here's to picnics, spontaneous and planned.
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