Pasta With Fava Beans & Pecorino Romano

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups shelled fresh fava beans or 3 cups frozen lima beans, thawed
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 12 ounces tagliatelle pasta noodles or 12 ounces fettuccine
• 1/3 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

Recipe

• 1 cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. using slotted spoon, transfer beans to large bowl. reserve water in pot.
• 2 combine 2 cups beans, 1 cup chopped basil and garlic in processor. using on/off turns, process until beans are coarsely chopped. transfer mixture to bowl with whole beans. add remaining 1 cup basil, olive oil and fresh lemon juice. stir to blend. season bean mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
• 3 meanwhile, cook pasta in same pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. return pasta to pot.
• 4 stir 1/4 cup reserved cooking liquid into bean mixture. add to pasta. add 1/3 cup grated pecorino romano cheese and enough remaining cooking liquid to moisten. season pasta to taste with salt and pepper and serve.