Ingredient Spotlight - Fava Beans; Recipe - Fresh Fava Beans with Tomato and Pecorino



from Popscreen.com

Can anyone in the US hear the word “favas” without thinking of Hannibal Lecter and his nice Chee-antee? (It’s one of my favorite movies, but I still curse it for launching 100,000 mispronunciations of my favorite wine!) Outside of mentions in movie references, favas are not often featured in American cuisine. The Italians, however, have been spinning up great fava bean dishes for centuries, and the June issue of La Cucina Italiana features an entire spread of recipes starring these beans.

Tonight, I spotted a basket of fresh fava pods in Savenor’s market, so I added a few handfuls to my bag. Originally, I was going to bring them home and set them aside until I procured the ingredients necessary to make one of La Cucina’s recipes, but instead, I chose to use them immediately and make one of my tried-and-true springtime favorites - favas with tomato and pecorino.

If you come across fresh fava bean pods during your next trip to the market, be sure to try this recipe. It takes some time, but the fresh, clean flavors make it worth the effort.

Fresh Fava Beans with Tomato and Pecorino

4 lb. / 1.75 kilo favas in pods (about 4 c. when shelled)
4 medium sized fresh tomatoes, seeded and cut into small dice
4 T / 60 g pecorino romano, chopped or coarsely grated
1 large clove garlic, crushed with the flat edge of a knife
5 T / 75 mL top-quality olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 t. / 15 g smoked sea salt

First, you must prepare the favas. This step can be done ahead of time. Some people like to boil the pods whole and then shell them, but I prefer to peel the pods open and pop the individual beans out - it takes a little longer, but if you’re cooking with others, this is a great shared task to do over a glass of wine and some great conversation. Or, if you’re cooking alone, pop on your hands-free headset and call someone you haven’t talked to in a while, or do it while you’re watching your favorite TV show.

Once the favas are out of the pods, boil them for 1-2 minutes in boiling water. Once they’ve cooked for about 2 minutes and they’ve swelled a bit, drain them immediately and rinse in cold water. Now, you’re ready to slip the beans out of their skins - simply pierce the skins with your thumbnail and squeeze; the bean should pop right out. Once the skin is removed from all the beans, you’re ready to prepare the salad.

Combine the shelled and peeled favas with the tomatoes, pecorino, garlic, and olive oil. Gently stir to combine. Refrigerate for about an hour, checking at 10-15 minute intervals to gently toss.

Once the salad has chilled for at least an hour, remove the garlic clove, and add the smoked salt and a generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine, and serve in individual bowls with a crisp Italian white wine.


Nutritional info: 4 servings. Per serving - 505 calories, 22 g fat, 34.6 g carbohydrates, 24.2 g protein

Cavatappi with Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

Great tomatoes in January, in Boston. If you're a serious foodie, that sentence probably just made you raise your eyebrows and question my credibility; as well you should have. However, I've been buying these tomatoes for quite some time, and I've never been disappointed in them, even in January.

Grown locally by Backyard Farms, these tomatoes are packed with flavor and rival some tomatoes I've had in August. I probably go through at least one box of their cocktail tomatoes per week, if not two or three. The other day, I got the idea to roast them and make a garlicky tomato sauce, and the idea evolved into this quick, easy, and delicious pasta recipe. Try this one the next time you're able to find good tomatoes!
　

Cavatappi with Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

1/2 lb. cavatappi, or other textured short pasta
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 c. butter
1 c. dry white wine
1/3 c. tomato paste
1 c. grated pecorino romano
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
generous amount coarsely ground black pepper
salt (if necessary)
handful fresh basil leaves, chiffonade-cut*
additional basil leaves, for garnish

Cook the pasta in heavily salted water. In the meantime, preheat the oven's broiler. Arrange the cherry tomatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet with one cut side down (as shown in picture above). Broil the tomatoes for 7-10 minutes, or until the tomatoes' skins have begun to blister and blacken. Remove from oven and set aside.

chiffonade-cut basil

While the pasta cooks and the tomatoes broil, combine the butter, wine, and tomato paste in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Whisk vigorously until the tomato paste has completely broken down and blended with the wine and the butter has melted. Turn heat down to low and add the pecorino, garlic, and pepper (you probably won't need salt; pecorino is a salty cheese. Taste for seasonings and only add salt if absolutely necessary). Continue to whisk until the pecorino has completely melted. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the sauce along with the roasted tomatoes and the chiffonade-cut basil leaves. Stir a few times until all the pasta is coated, then serve hot, garnished with fresh basil leaves.
　
* Chiffonade-cut is a technique often used on fresh herbs. To cut basil, stack the leaves on top of each other, roll up lengthwise, and cut into 1/8" strips. By placing the largest leaf on the bottom of the stack, the smaller leaves will be contained in the roll and the leaves will be easier to slice.