Fettuccini with Broad Beans, Asparagus & Peas
Fettuccini Primavera
Another springtime dish to take advantage of the lovely broad beans and asparagus in season. Broad beans can seem like a bit of trouble, first you take them out of pods, then you need to cook in boiling water before you peel each individual bean by hand. Sure, it’s a bit fiddly but absolutely worth the effort as you savour the divine little sweet beans with tender asparagus and pasta tossed with a puree of peas. Plus its only spring once a year…
Ingredients
500 grams of pappardelle
Olive oil
4 tablespoons of butter
½ onion, chopped
1 cup of baby peas (frozen is fine here as they are snap frozen as soon as picked and freeze well)
500g of broad beans
2 bunches of asparagus, cleaned and chopped into 3 cm pieces
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Pecorino cheese
Method
Boil pappardelle in salted water according to packet instructions, making sure you save 1 cup of pasta water for later
Shell the broad beans and boil them in a saucepan for 5 minutes
Refresh the beans in cold water and peel off the outer layer of each bean and place in a bowl
In the saucepan, gently saute the onion in oil and 2 tablespoons of butter until translucent
Add the peas and just cover with water, add salt to taste and boil for 5 minutes
Now pureee the pea mixture with a hand blender and set aside
In a shallow fry pan, add 2 tablespoons butter, saute the broad beans and asparagus for about 4 minutes and add the lemon zest and juice at the end
When pasta is cooked, mix with the pea puree, beans, asparagus and ½ cup of the pasta water, adding more if needed
Serve into pasta bowls with freshly grated pecorino cheese
Springtime delight!