Cooking With Fava Beans

I've been trying new recipes lately. This one is from the April 2011 issue of Bon Appetit, page 14. Although I did switch it up a little (the ** are changes/additions I made to the recipe).

Their original title is Garganelli with Asparagus, Artichokes, Favas and Peas. This recipe is a great Springtime recipe and uses a ton of green vegetables. And is very yummy!

I had corkscrew pasta on hand so I used that. I also did not use fresh artichokes, I used marinated in a jar instead. Saved a lot of time. I also had green peas in the freezer and used those instead of fresh.




Here's my version of the recipe:

**1 small jar marinated artichokes, chopped in large chunks
3/4 pound fresh fava beans, shelled (I got them at the Buford Hwy Farmers Market)
8 medium asparagus spears
1 pound pasta
**1 1/2 cups frozen green peas, thawed
3/4 cups loosely packed fresh tarragon leaes
**1 large clove galic, peeled
6 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
2 cups packed fresh spinach
grated parmesan
**1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Add fava beans and asparagus. Cook until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Remove to ice water bath to stop cooking, then drain and pat dry. Peel fava beans to remove outer layer.

Cook pasta as directed on package. Drain, reserving liquid.

Put peas in food processor and puree. Add tarragon, garlic and 3/4 cup pasta water to processor and blend with peas. Season with salt/pepper.

Bring butter and 1/2 cup pasta water to simmer. Add artichokes, fava beans, asparagus and spinach. Toss until spinach wilts and vegetables are heated through, about 2 minutes. Add pasta and peas and toss to coat. Add grated parmesan to taste and toasted pine nuts.

Enjoy!