Pasta with fresh fava beans is a spring dish, perfect for the whole family’s lunch.
It is a simple, tasty, light, and nutritious dish that exploits all the flavor and nutritional properties of fresh fava beans.
A simple and inviting main course, which encapsulates all the typical colors and flavors of Italian cuisine.
I thought of it when I started seeing these fresh legumes on the market stalls of all the greengrocers and thought it was time to buy them and prepare them in some appetizing way.
Next to the fava beans were baskets of beautiful red cherry tomatoes, and I bought them thinking of creating a nice main dish.
The secret to the successful outcome of the recipe is certainly the ingredients, which must be fresh and top quality.
This dish is really simple and quick to prepare, ideal to serve your guests, for a lunch or dinner.
To prepare it, first, we need to shell the fava beans. This operation is very simple to perform, but it is a bit long and could be “disappointing.” In fact, from a kilo of whole fava beans, we will get just 200 grams of shelled legumes, but no worries: it is the perfect quantity for this pasta!
The most suitable pasta shape is small shell pasta, but you can also choose broken spaghetti or the shape you prefer.
Prepared with simple ingredients such as fresh fava beans, pasta, onion, tomato, and extra virgin olive oil, it is a complete and nutritious dish, perfect for a summer lunch.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring
- Energy 281.48 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 29.13 (g) of which sugars 4.09 (g)
- Proteins 10.75 (g)
- Fat 13.27 (g) of which saturated 3.42 (g)of which unsaturated 1.37 (g)
- Fibers 4.29 (g)
- Sodium 736.01 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 179 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Pasta and Fava Beans
- 7 oz fava beans (weight when peeled)
- 11 oz pasta (short)
- 5 cherry tomatoes
- 1 onion (small)
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons Parmesan (or pecorino)
- salt
Tools
- Pot
- Lid
Steps for Pasta and Fava Beans
Peel the fava beans. (Remove the skin covering the fava beans).
(Open the pods and extract them, also removing the growth at one of the two ends.
The fava beans will then be deprived of the outer skin. Make a lateral incision with a sharp knife and then remove the skin. Continue this way with all the fava beans available to you.
At this point, the fava beans should be halved).
Chop half an onion into very small pieces, slice the tomatoes once peeled, and move to the stove.
In a pan, put the extra virgin olive oil, add the onion and let it brown. Add the fava beans and let them season for a few minutes.
Add the cherry tomatoes, adjust the salt, and mix. Pour in the water and cook for 20 minutes from the boiling point.
After 20 minutes, add the pasta and add more hot water only if necessary.
One minute before the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and let rest.
Top with a little grated pecorino or Parmesan to taste if desired and serve.
Notes and Tips
Fava beans are an excellent source of plant proteins, vitamins, and minerals. But how to choose the best fresh fava beans to prepare your favorite dishes? Here are some tips to recognize the freshest seasonal fava beans:
Choose medium-sized fava beans with an intense green color, without dark spots on the skin.
Make sure they are well-filled, without empty spaces inside the pod.
Prefer pods with a smooth and shiny surface.
Check the consistency of the pods; they should be firm to the touch and should not show signs of dryness or deformations.
If in doubt, break one of the pods and check the inside: the fava beans should be intensely green and without signs of mold or drying.
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