Pasta with fresh fava bean sauce

Fresh fava beans can be quite the challenge to prepare but I try to take advantage of their availability in the local farmers' markets at least once each spring. Tonight I spent a few hours shelling them and then found a recipe for a fresh fava bean pasta sauce that seemed like a great way to use them. I don't really know exact measurements on this one so use it as inspiration if you're going to try the same dish. (I adapted this from a recipe I found on napastyle.com so take a look at that too.)

2 cups or more of fresh fava beans, shelled
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 tsp of dried oregano
olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
pasta of your choice
freshly grated pecorino
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 of a preserved lemon (optional), diced

Remove the fresh fava beans from their pods. In the meantime, put a pot of salted water on to boil. Blanch the favas for about a minute and then remove to a bowl of cool water. Drain. Use your finger to remove the outer membrane from each bean and set them aside.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and cook the garlic on low heat until it just starts to brown. Add the oregano, the chicken stock, preserved lemon and all but about a 1/2 cup of the favas. Cook for a few minutes, then remove the mixture to a blender or food processor to puree. Return the fava bean puree to the saute pan.

Boil water for the pasta. Cook pasta until within a few minutes of being al dente. Add cooked pasta back into the saute pan with the fava bean puree. Add enough water from the pot to continue cooking the pasta and stir to completely coat pasta with fresh fava sauce. When done, add the rest of the whole fava beans and generously grate pecorino over the pasta. Season with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Fettucine alla Carbonara

1 lb fettucine or spaghetti
6 oz pancetta, diced
1 shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
4 egg yolks
grated fresh parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Boil salted water and begin cooking the pasta.

Whisk the egg yolks together in a small bowl and set aside.

Saute the pancetta until crisp and then remove to a small plate. Add olive oil to the pan and saute the garlic and shallots. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Reduce the liquid by half, then return the cooked pancetta back to the pan.

With a few minutes to go before the pasta is al dente, remove it to the pan with the pancetta, garlic and onion. Add enough boiling water from the pot to continue cooking the pasta. Once the pasta is cooked, remove it from the heat into a large bowl. Toss in the egg yolks and parmesan until the pasta is well coated. The eggs will cook quickly from the heat of the pasta and create a thick sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Bruschetta with Peas and Pancetta

I bought some fresh English peas at the Farmer's Market and made a quick appetizer by sauteing them with a little butter, olive oil and some onion and pancetta. I served them on some crusty bread that I toasted in olive oil.

Grilled Halibut with Preserved Lemon

I grilled some fresh halibut and sliced up some of the preserved Meyer lemons I made in January to top off the fish. I drizzled with a bit of extra virgin olive oil to top it off. Simple.

I'll post the recipe for preserved lemons soon too. It's easy and a good way to use up lemons if you're lucky enough to have your own lemon tree.

Crostata di Visciola

This is a pretty simple dessert but looks really impressive when it's done and tastes great.

Pastry

2 1/2 cups flour
5 tbsps butter
5 tbsps shortening
2/3 cups sugar
3 egg yolks
grated zest from 1 lemon
pinch of salt

1 1/3 cups of black cherry jam (or the jam of your choice)
1 egg, beaten
confectioner's sugar (if desired)

Pastry crust: Sift flour into a bowl, rub or cut the butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the remaining ingredients and knead quickly to a dough. Add more butter or shortening if needed. Work it as little as possible and form into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Break off three quarters of the dough, roll it out thinly on a floured surface and then gently lift it into a 9-inch tart pan. It doesn't matter if the dough fall apart as you can just reform it in the pan. Roll out the remaining dough into 1/2 inch wide strips enough to create a lattice on the tart.

Fill the dough with jam and cover with the strips, arranged in a lattice pattern. Brush the strips with the beaten egg. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden.

Rigatoni all'Amatriciana

This is an easy recipe and one I decided to make today since I didn't feel like going to the store and happened to have all the necessary ingredients on hand. Of course you could make this with spaghetti or whatever pasta you want.

1 1/2 pounds rigatoni (I used half a box of Latini brand rigatoni)
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, diced
5 ounces pancetta, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
28 oz can tomatoes, seeded (I used San Marzanos)
salt & pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino

Heat the oil and saute the shallots over a very low heat until soft. Add the pancetta and fry it for a few minutes. Pour in the white wine and continue cooking until it evaporates a little. Add the tomatoes to the pan and roughly chop up using the back of a spoon or a potato masher. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook down on low heat for no more than 15 minutes.

Separately, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the rigatoni until within a few minutes of being al dente. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pasta out of the boiling water and add it to the sauce. Add a small amount of the pasta water and continue cooking on low heat until the sauce and pasta are properly married and the rigatoni is done cooking. Sprinkle with the fresh pecorino and serve.

Seafood soup

Continuing the fish stock theme, I made up a seafood soup recipe last week that I really liked. It goes a little something like this:

1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
6 tomatoes, seeded (I used canned San Marzanos)
1 small red pepper, diced, some seeds removed (I used a Fresno)
1/2 pound monk fish (or any firm white fish), cut into bite-sized pieces
some fresh clams
some fresh shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 qt fish stock (see below)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
fresh shredded basil
fresh parsley, finely chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a deep sauce pan. Add the onion, red pepper and carrots and saute until soft. Add the tomatoes, thyme and oregano and any tomato sauce from the can and cook down for about five minutes. Pour in the fish stock and bring to a boil. Return to a simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add the fish to the broth and cook gently for a few minutes; add the shrimp and clams and cook until the clams open up. (Be sure not to let the fish boil or it will turn tough.) Stir in the parsley and basil. Serve the soup with fresh croutons on the side.