Fresh Pasta with Favas, Tomatoes, and Sausage
/Fava beans are growing like crazy in my garden right now and that makes me soooo happy! This season Adrian and I grew more favas than ever and we have enough to make a few different fava bean recipes. I bet you can see the smile on my face as I’m typing this.
Also known as broad beans, fava beans have actually been grown for ages! Humans have been growing them for consumption in the Mediterranean since at least 6500 BC and began cultivation even earlier in the Middle East.
I'm guessing one reason we've grown them this long is because they’re ridiculously healthy! One cup of fava beans will provide you with 44% of the folate you need per day, 36% of your manganese, and 37% of your fiber. They’re also buttery and sweet, so they’re the best combination of tasty and healthy in my opinion.
One of our favorite fava bean pasta recipes is by Alex Palermo. It’s so good that it would be a shame for you to make any alterations, except maybe adding some red pepper flakes. I recommend making this recipe as is before making any substitutions or omissions.
Also be sure to make this fava bean recipe with high quality Italian sausage, plum tomatoes, and Pecorino Romano so that your taste buds are guaranteed to be dazzled. We hadn’t tried this fava recipe in a few years and were taken aback by how good it was...AGAIN! Serve the pasta up with a little red or white wine and your meal is complete.
Speaking of wine, Pulltaps sent me a free corkscrew to share with all of you and it’s pretty neat! Check out the corkcscrew below with my Diet Assassinista logo superimposed over one of my Instagram recipes!
To pull this off (if you don't mind my play on words!), Pulltaps used a sublimation technique, which can be used with any picture or logo. The quality is super top-notch. Is it okay that I feel a little extra special having my own personalized corkscrew? I hope so. Be sure to check out their website if you want to purchase your own personalized corkscrew too!
Back to the recipe, it is super easy to make. The only time consuming part is peeling fava beans, so I recommend two people for the task if you want dinner to be done in a jiffy. But if you only have two hands, the positive side of peeling favas on your own is that the process can be very meditative. Just turn on some nice music and get ready to get to know this delicious bean a little better.
Do note: if you’re on an MAOI inhibitor or have G6PD, you will want to steer clear of the bean! I bet you probably already knew that anyway!
Fresh Pasta with Favas, Tomatoes, and Sausage
Time: 30 Minutes
Serves 8
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 pound Italian sausages, casings removed
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 3/4 cups chopped plum tomatoes
1 cup shelled fresh fava beans (from about 1 pound), blanched 3 minutes then peeled
3/4 pound fresh pasta sheets, cut as desired
2 tablespoons finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese plus additional for passing
Directions
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add next 3 ingredients. Sauté until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add sausages; break up with fork. Sauté until brown, about 3 minutes. Add wine; simmer 1 minute, scraping up browned bits. Add tomatoes and fava beans. Sauté until tomatoes soften, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot.
Add sauce to pasta. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid as needed if dry, about 2 minutes. Mix in 2 tablespoons cheese. Transfer pasta to bowl. Serve, passing additional cheese.
