Three Seasonal Pastas
Before the peas and favas are gone
We’re now late in the season for fava beans and English peas, and I’ve been buying bushels of these over the last few weeks to really savor them. I’ve observed that the two are a bit divisive — favas may conjure memories of lima beans, which is understandable, though I can’t imagine being averse to a sweet spring pea — but it’s my hope that some of these pasta dishes will sway you if you’re in need of persuasion.
I previously shared a recipe for a salad with peas and favas, where the legumes are kept bright and green and served at a cool room temperature. The approach this week is a bit different; as per Italian custom, the vegetables are softer and more stewed, giving them a deep, slightly unctuous flavor that I really love.
The first dish is very simple, just fava beans, pasta water, pecorino and mint; I used calamarata for this, but just about any pasta shape will do (paccheri or rigatoni are good substitutes). It’s adapted from a recipe by Nino Asaro, who I highly recommend following on Instagram for pasta inspiration.
The second is a riff on an old classic, pasta e piselli, which my grandma used to make for me when I was a kid. Here, I think tubetti or ditalini are ideal pasta choices, and it’s best eaten from a bowl, with a spoon, in appropriately childlike fashion. Finally, there is tagliatelle pomodoro with favas (and/or peas), one of my favorites.
The best part of these seasonal pastas is that they’re only seasonal if you want them to be; both favas and peas freeze very well, so you can enjoy them year-round. However, if you have access to fresh ones, I highly recommend doing that at least once — the sweetness, especially of the peas, is unparalleled.
Calamarata with Favas, Mint, and Pecorino
Ingredients
2 pounds of fresh fava beans in the pod, or 1 pound frozen/shelled
1/2 pound of calamarata, paccheri, or rigatoni
Handful of mint, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Cracked black pepper
Instructions
Remove the fava beans from their pods. Bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil and add the fava beans for 3-4 minutes, until you can start to see the green inner bean through its skin. Remove and run under cold water. Pinch the outer skin with two fingers to squeeze out the inner beans, and reserve these in a small bowl. Discard the pods and skins, as well as any favas that are too hard.
Bring 3-4 quarts of water to a boil for the pasta.
In a large pasta pan over low heat (preferably one that is deep, and that you can shake/toss with ease), drizzle in a generous amount of olive oil. Add the garlic and cook in the oil until it is starting to brown very slightly.
Generously salt the boiling water and add the pasta. Cook roughly 2 minutes under the recommended instructions on the package.
Add the favas to the pan and turn the heat to medium-high; sauté them in the oil, add a ladle of pasta water and salt and pepper to taste, and make sure they start to soften considerably before adding the pasta.
Once the pasta is ready, transfer it to the pan and turn the heat to high. Add 1-2 generous ladles of pasta water; you want to continue continue the pasta in this pan with the pasta water and fava beans.
Continuously stir and agitate the pasta, adding more water as necessary. You will want to cook this for 2-3 minutes straight, with the water nearly covering the pasta, for the pasta to become fully cooked.
After about 3 minutes, test the pasta for doneness. Continue cooking and adding water as necessary until you reach the desired consistency.
Once the pasta is fully cooked, turn the heat off and begin vigorously stirring and flipping the pasta to emulsify the sauce. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a small amount of additional water. Add grated Pecorino and continue to emulsify.
Add additional salt to taste, and add the chopped mint.
Plate with a drizzle of olive oil and more grated cheese.
Pasta e Piselli
Ingredients
Roughly 2 pounds of fresh English peas in the pod, or 2 cups frozen peas
1/2 pound of tubetti or ditalini
1/2 cup of cubed guanciale, bacon, or ham
2 cloves garlic, smashed
Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano cheese, finely grated
1 tablespoon butter
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Cracked black pepper
Instructions
Remove the peas from their pods if using fresh. Bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the peas and cook until they are bright green and slightly soft, roughly 4 minutes. Remove and run under cold water/deposit in an ice bath, and set aside.
Set a pan over medium-high heat and add the guanciale, bacon, or ham. Cook until well browned and the fat is rendered. Remove and set aside.
Add a bit of olive oil to the pan, and add the garlic. Cook until the garlic starts to brown very slightly.
Bring the same pot of water back to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions, until they are fully cooked.
Add the peas to the pan over medium-high heat and sauté.
Once the pasta is done, add to the pan and turn the heat off. Add a small bit of pasta water, and start vigorously stirring and tossing the pasta to emulsify. Add the butter and a bit more pasta water.
Add the guanciale back to the pan, as well as the grated cheese. Add a bit more water if the sauce is too thick. Continue tossing. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Plate with olive oil and grated cheese.
Tagliatelle Pomodoro with Fava Beans
Ingredients
2 pounds of fresh fava beans in the pod, or 1 pound frozen/shelled (you can also use 1-2 cups of peas instead)
1/2 pound tagliatelle
10-12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup of canned, peeled tomatoes in tomato puree
3-4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon double-concentrated tomato paste
Handful of basil leaves
Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Cracked black pepper
Instructions
Remove the fava beans from their pods. Bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil and add the fava beans for 3-4 minutes, until you can start to see the green inner bean through its skin. Remove and run under cold water. Pinch the outer skin with two fingers to squeeze out the inner beans, and reserve these in a small bowl. Discard the pods and skins, as well as any favas that are too hard.
In a food processor, add the sliced cherry tomatoes. Pulse until they break down and resemble a salsa.
Set a large pasta pan over low heat. Add a generous amount of olive oil, as well as the garlic, the tomato paste, and 1-2 basil leaves. Cook until the garlic starts to brown slightly.
Add the fava beans and turn heat to medium high. Cook until they soften considerably, about 5 minutes. Start mashing them a bit with a wooden spoon to release the starch.
Add the cherry tomatoes. Add the canned tomatoes and break them up with a wooden spoon. Add a bit of water if the sauce is too thick, and only cook this for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and then add salt. Add the tagliatelle and cook to 1-2 minutes under the recommended time. While the pasta is cooking, return the sauce to heat and add a ladle of pasta water. Stir and mash the favas a bit more; you want about half of them broken and half retaining their shape.
When the pasta is ready, add it to the pan. Set it to high heat. Add additional pasta water and cook the pasta in the sauce for another 1-2 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Add a bit more pasta water; you want this sauce to be a bit brothy. Add the grated cheese and salt and pepper to taste; stir and toss to emulsify a bit.
Add in the remaining basil leaves and stir. Plate with olive oil and grated cheese.