~Sunday, January 20, 2013
It’s time to revisit my Fava Bean blog from December 2,
2012. (By the way, if you were inspired
to plant fava beans in your garden, they should be about 18 inches tall by now!) As I mentioned in the past blog, they will
not be ready to pick until the end of April, so my mom used her stored frozen
fava beans from last year to prepare this dish.
Ingredients
(Serves 8 to 10)
8 ounces medium-size pasta
shells
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle
1 tablespoon salt
1¼-inch thick slice pancetta,
diced
1 medium size onion, finely
chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 pounds fava beans, shelled
5 cups warm water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a large pot, heat olive oil
over a medium-low flame. Add pancetta
and cook until golden brown; mix frequently.
Increase flame to medium-high, add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, then
adding carrots and celery to sauté an additional 5 minutes, mixing occasionally. The fava beans are now added to the
ingredients to absorb their flavor; continue to sauté for 10 minutes mixing
often to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot. Pour 5 cups warm water into the pot and bring
to a boil adding the bouillon cubes. Reduce
flame to a simmer, cover and cook until fava beans are tender, approximately 20
minutes; mix occasionally.
Meanwhile, in a separate pot,
bring water to a boil, salt it and add pasta shells; cook until al dente. Drain and add to fava bean mixture. (You can add more warm water to desired
consistency.) I personally like it thick and less soupy! Drizzle with a little olive oil, and add
freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve with freshly grated
Parmesan cheese.
