Fusilli with Wild Morels Fava Beans and English Peas
Beautifully bright colored and super creamy, fava beans have a short season so I decided to use them wisely. To highlight them and go along with their mild flavor, I wanted a background of flavors that wasn’t too intense: subtle earthiness of the morels, brightness from the thyme and a delicate balance of fat from the butter and olive oil. It’s pretty lovely, so check out the recipe for yourself.
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
8 oz of wild morels, halved
½ cup of fava beans, blanched
1-1 1/2 pounds fresh fava beans in the pods, shelled (or 1 cup shelled fava beans)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp of butter
½ cup of fennel with fennel fronds, diced
½ cup olive oil
7 sprigs of fresh thyme stripped to give 2 tsp of leaves
2 cups of frozen English peas
Directions
Fill a medium bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Heavily salt the water and blanch the fava beans (about 30 seconds -1 minute). Remove the beans with a slotted spoon and place them in the ice water bath. Let cool, then drain the water. Peel the skins of the fava beans. Set aside.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel and the morels and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5-8 minutes (or until tender).
Add the garlic and thyme and stir, being careful not to burn the garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste. Turn off the heat and set the skillet aside.
In the same large pot, bring the water to rolling boil and add the pasta. Reserve 1 cup of salted pasta water. Drain the pasta and add all of the ingredients to the pot, including the frozen english peas, 1/4 cup of the pasta water and the olive oil. Add more pasta water as needed. Season to taste.
Divide amongst 4-6 shallow bowls and top with parmigiano reggiano.