Fava Bean Pasta

Wine:
Stefano Farina Barolo 2001
Saracina Mendocino Blanc Sauvignon Blanc 2003

Bea came over for dinner. At Lucques Restaurant we had a great salad and decided to make one like it for a starter. The Salad was made from Belgium Endive, We couldn’t decide on the correct Feta Cheese to use, so we used two different Feta cheeses (goat and sheep - both French) we added Pitted Black Olives and Pixie Orange slices. We made a lemon and olive oil dressing. It was great!

The main course was Fava Bean Pasta. This particular version was exceptionally good. Cathy sautéed the onions for an extra long time and they were extra sweet. Fava beans are best in spring when they are young. You have to buy a lot (4 to 5 pounds) then remove the beans from their pod. This can take an hour to do and is best done on the patio while drinking wine. The beans are then par boiled for a minute or so and given a second peeling to remove the skin. This is really an easy and extremely delicious pasta.

For dessert we had German Chocolate Cake.


Bacon and Fava Bean Pasta
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1 lb. Linguini
1 ½ Onions
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Pounds fresh Fava Beans (start with about 5 pounds pods)
½ Cup White Wine
½ Pound Bacon
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Hand full of fresh chopped sage

1. Prepare the fava beans by removing all beans from the pod. Then blanch beans for 1 minute. Then peel the skin from the blanched beans. Discard the skin.
2. Chop bacon and sauté but not too crisp
3. Remove bacon from pan, pour off bacon fat
4. Add olive oil and sauté onion and garlic till soft and translucent
5. Add wine, boil till almost all evaporates leaving ¼ cup of liquid left in pan
6. Using wooden spoon scrape and deglaze the pan retaining the brown bits from the bottom of the pan in the liquid
7. Add chopped sage, peeled beans, and bacon and sauté until hot
8. Toss with cooked pasta and add grated parmesan cheese

Serve and enjoy