Fava bean pesto was a recent discovery; I had never tried to make it before, but once I tasted it, I fell in love. I find it delicate yet flavorful, ideal for dressing pasta.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 14 oz Frozen fava beans
- 5 Chestnuts
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1 oz Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 0.5 oz Caciotta
- 4 tbsps Olive oil
- 12 oz Penne Rigate (whole wheat)
- 2 tsps Coarse salt
- 7 oz Surimi
- to taste Black pepper (ground)
Preparation
Clean the fava beans by removing the outer skin, put them to cook in a small pot with boiling water and two teaspoons of coarse salt for about 10 minutes.
In the same pot, also add the chestnuts, which need to boil for at least half an hour.
Remove the fava beans from the heat and place them in a bowl with very cold water to maintain their bright green color.
Drain the fava beans, place them in a blender with the garlic, Parmigiano, caciotta, oil, 7 tablespoons of the fava bean cooking water, and the chestnuts.
Blend until the mixture is smooth and well blended.Fill a pot with plenty of water, add two teaspoons of salt, and as soon as it boils, throw in the pasta and cook it for the time indicated on the package.
Separately, chop the surimi into cubes and place it in a bowl.
Drain the pasta, keeping aside a glass of cooking water in case it turns out dry.
Put the drained pasta back into the cooking pot, add the fava bean pesto (I didn’t use it all; I froze the leftovers for next time), the surimi, some cooking water, and mix well.
Add black pepper to taste and serve hot.
Notes
The surimi is a food preparation mainly composed of cooked cod pulp, packaged in the shape of small orange-colored cylinders on the outside and white on the inside, meant to imitate crab meat.
If the pasta turns out too dry, add some cooking water.
You can also use non-whole wheat pasta, but it will lose some of its taste.
For more recipes with pesto:
Spaghetti with fava bean pesto, clams, and bacon
Trofie with Genoese pesto, tomato, and cooked ham
For more recipes with surimi:
Pasta with velvet fish and surimi
Whole wheat penne with surimi sauce
