A fast, plant-based pasta dish that we cannot stop eating these days. I cooked the spaghetti first, al dente, the traditional way, then added it to the briefly braised fava pods flavored with onion, garlic, lemon juice, and plenty of wonderful parsley that we happen to have in the garden.
Lemon zest and plenty of coarsely ground pepper give the dish a lovely kick, while crumbled feta adds a very welcomed tanginess.
This is the more conventional and elegant way to make the dish, besides the One-pot version with Fava, Asparagus, and Spinach that I posted last year.
Serves 3-4
About 1/3 cup (70ml) fruity olive oil, more for drizzling
3 spring onions (scallions) –white, plus most of the green part, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
About 1 ½ pounds fresh fava pods, cut into 2 cm (1-inch) pieces; shack the larger pods, keeping only the very fresh fava pods whole
2 tablespoons ground coriander seeds
1 cup white wine
Salt, to taste
2 ounces (360 grams) linguine or spaghettini
A good bunch flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped –leaves and tender stems
3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or more, to taste
Zest of ½- 1 lemon
½-1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or more, to taste
Crumbled feta cheese, for serving (optional)
In a deep skillet or sauté pan warm the olive oil over medium-high heat and briefly sauté the scallions and garlic. Add the fava, toss and sauté for 5-8 minutes, stir in the coriander and gradually add the wine and a little water, just half a cup or so, until the fava is almost cooked. If it is tender, like ours it does not take long.
Until this point you may prepare the pasta ‘sauce’ a few hours in advance.
About 20 mnutes from the time you plan to serve, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta at least 2 minutes less than the recommended ‘al dente’ time.
Keep the skillet with the fava over low heat, and ass soon as the pasta is ready, transfer with tongs to the fava, or drain it, reserving 2 cups of the cooking water before dropping it to the fava, adding the parsley, lemon juice and 1 cup pasta water. Toss over medium heat, adding salt and pepper, along with half the lemon zest. Taste and if you think it needs to cook more, add more pasta water.
Correct the seasoning, drizzle with fruity olive oil and serve at once, sprinkling with the rest of the lemon zest, and crumbled feta, if you like.
