Garden Linguine
Some of the first garden vegetables to flourish in late spring are fresh, green peas and fava beans. Later in the summer, fava beans are harvested dry. When cooking these vegetables, one of the best ways to preserve their flavor is to quickly blanch them in boiling water. Still al dente, they can be enjoyed on their own or put to perfect use in a recipe like this one for linguine tossed with ricotta and Parmesan. When choosing fava beans, don’t select the ones whose beans bulge out of their pods; this indicates that they’re too mature and lack the flavor of fresher beans.
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Garden Linguine with Ricotta
Serves 4
2 tablespoons coarse salt, plus more to taste
1 pound fresh fava beans, shelled
1 pound fresh or frozen peas, shelled
1 pound linguine
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves, plus more leaves for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
1. Fill a large stockpot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil; meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. Place fava beans in a sieve, and lower into water. Let water return to a boil, about 1 minute; blanch 1 minute more. Remove sieve from water, and place beans in ice-water bath. Transfer to a colander; drain. Peel and discard tough skins; set beans aside.
2. Using same blanching water and sieve, blanch peas until just tender and bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove sieve from water; transfer peas to ice-water bath. Transfer peas to a colander, drain, and set aside.
3. Discard blanching water; fill stockpot with fresh water. Bring to a boil, and add 1 tablespoon salt. Add pasta, and cook until al dente.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, chopped mint, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Just before pasta has finished cooking, add 1 cup cooking water to cheese mixture; stir to combine.
5. Drain pasta, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add olive oil; toss. Add ricotta mixture, reserved fava beans, and reserved peas; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with mint leaves; serve.
Photograph by: Dana Gallagher
SPECIAL THANKS
Melissa’s World Variety Produce
Los Angeles, CA
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