Pasta with fava beans and pancetta (fave in porchetta). Recipe from Le Marche.
This easy to make fava bean (broad bean) recipe from Central Italy is delicious with pasta or as a side dish.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 40 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
- 400 g pasta ((14oz) I used fusilli bucati corti (short hollow fusilli))
- 2 kgs fresh fava beans in pods ((4lbs))
- 2 garlic cloves (or fresh garlic peeled and chopped)
- 200 g pancetta ((7oz) or guanciale cut into cubes)
- 1/2 glass white wine
- 1 bunch wild fennel or dill (or 1 tsp fennel seeds)
- 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
- 30 g Pecorino cheese ((1oz) grated)
- salt (for pasta and to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper. (to taste)
Instructions
- 1
Shell the fava beans, peel and chop the garlic and cut the pancetta into small cubes. If using, chop the wild fennel or dill.
- 2
Cook the chopped garlic with olive oil in a non-stick pan or skillet. Add the pancetta and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the white wine. When the alcohol has evaporated, and you no longer smell the wine, add the wild fennel, dill or seeds and the shelled beans.
- 3
Let everything cook for a few minutes on a low heat, then if necessary add water (3 or 4 tablespoons). The beans are best cooked in the sauce, so, you don’t want to overdo it with water and boil them. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- 4
Continue to cook over a low heat, with the pan covered for about 30 minutes.
- 5
In the meantime, put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet, save a cup of the cooking water and drain.
- 6
Add some of the saved pasta cooking water to the beans and then put the cooked pasta into the pan with the Pecorino. Mix everything together well and serve with more grated Pecorino as required.