Maltagliati with Favas, Tomatoes, and Sausage: A Quick and Delicious Summer Pasta

 

We recently had a big influx of fava beans in our lives - dining out a few times in a row brought us a couple of very delicious meals featuring the vegetable. So when this pasta dish with fava beans from Bon Appetit kept popping up in our radar, we knew we needed to give it a try.

You've also had an influx of Pepper in your life. Don't forget about that. 

The dish features fresh pasta called maltagliati, which translated means something like "roughly cut". The idea is that it's not a particular shape, but just random cuts on a sheet of pasta. The result is something closest to short papardelle, which allows for a nice surface area to grasp the sauce while still being easy to eat.

Making the Dish
What You'll Need

(Serves: 2)

1/2 lb fresh maltagliati
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup chopped plum tomatoes
1 cup fresh fava beans
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano
2 tbsp olive oil



To start, blanch the fava beans for three minutes, run under cold water, and then remove the beans from the shell. The shell will actually be much much larger than the beans inside. Almost humorously so, actually. For two people, you should have about a cups worth of beans.

Blanched and shelled fava beans

Once this is done it's time to start making the sauce. In a nonstick pan sauté some onions and when they are softened add in the sausage, removed from the casing, and break it up as it cooks.

Sautéing onions and sausage.

As the sausage starts to brown, add in a cup of white wine to deglaze the pan and give it some more flavor.

Dicing up a plum tomato with its seeds removed

Finally, add in some chopped plum tomatoes and the fava beans, and let simmer until a sauce begins to from the tomato juice and pan juices, about 5 - 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Adding the tomatoes and favas to the onion and sausage mixture.

While the sauce is forming, add the maltagliati (or whatever pasta you decide to use) and add it to a pot of salted, boiling water. Cook it until a minute shy of the package directions. For fresh pasta, this should be only about two minutes, so that lends itself very well to a quick summer dinner.

Simmering the fava beans and tomatoes together, seasoned with salt and pepper. 

After the pasta has completed cooking, move it directly to the pan with the sauce, adding in a bit of the pasta cooking water as well to help enhance the sauce. Toss everything together, adding in a few tablespoons of cheese, and then serve in a bowl garnished with more cheese.

Tossing the maltagliati with the favas, tomatoes, and sausage.

The Result
This is a quick and easy dish that packs in a satisfying amount of flavor. The fava beans add a delicious texture and gives the whole thing a "healthy" feel, while the sausage provides a nice salty sweet tang.

You know what else is satisfying? Ear scratch. Mmmmmmmmm

Over fresh pasta, this dish is a real winner, but the sauce is so simple and tasty that it should be great with any type of pasta or even over rice!

How have you used fava beans before? Let us know in the comments!