Pasta with Broad Beans, Ricotta & Lemon
Some of the best pasta dishes are the really simple ones- aglio e olio, cacio e pepe... Just 2 ingredients and you are on to a winner!
So I hope you will forgive me from having a huge, grand total of 6 ingredients in this dish... but it is simply pasta, in this case spaghetti, cooked with broad beans and a little lemon zest and then "dressed" in fresh ricotta. To round it off, there is a little olive oil in there, a little nutmeg and a sprinkle of chili flakes to make it ultra- perfect! I think I can be forgiven for that! Can't I?
So I hope you will forgive me from having a huge, grand total of 6 ingredients in this dish... but it is simply pasta, in this case spaghetti, cooked with broad beans and a little lemon zest and then "dressed" in fresh ricotta. To round it off, there is a little olive oil in there, a little nutmeg and a sprinkle of chili flakes to make it ultra- perfect! I think I can be forgiven for that! Can't I?
This is my kinda "pasta asciutta"- tasty and simple, satisfying and no fuss! What's not to love?!?
Lovely big, thick, juicy and fresh broad beans... Ready to be popped open!
This is about as basic as basic can be... Real "poor peoples food"... The kind that you would have to pay top dollar for at a restaurant... And THEN it wouldn't be as good as when you make it yourself!
I have always loved broad beans ever since I was a child and my father used to grow them for us in our garden! Big and beautiful and in their velvety cushion inside the pod- so wonderful!
After fetching the beans out of the pod, you will also need to remove the tough, white outer-skin, which is easily done. You can eat them with the skin, but then they taste kinda dull und iffy.... But if you go to the trouble to fetch them out, they will be sweet and tender and delicious!
Here you have it... Pasta, beans and some lemon zest- ready to boil together for the next 8-9 minutes.... Arrivederci after your done, guys!
Once the pasta is ready, drain it and add about a tablespoon of fresh ricotta cheese per serving, a good sprinkle of finely chopped parsley, a nice drizzle of olive oil and plenty of freshly-grated nutmeg.
Stir or toss this all together and try to resist sneaking a taste... It smells so fantastic! And fear not... It tastes even better!
All plated-up and looking delicious, who would know, or care, that this is the kind of thing a humble farmer might eat out in the fields in Sicily,,, that's right! Real food!
Grab a fork, grab a spoon... And get ready to enjoy a great meal!
A gorgeous pasta dish. And that first photo is just superb. Tack sharp and the strands of pasta truly glisten—it really makes you want to reach out and eat the screen.
ReplyDeleteThanks Frank! Don't eat your screen though... Come on over and have some of the real thing instead! Glad you like its, all the best from Frankfurt, Francesco
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