Spring Pea & Ricotta Ravioli with Fava Beans
Fava beans are one of those things I wait for all year long. When you talk about seasonal cooking, fava beans immediately come to my mind because when they’re fresh, there’s really nothing like them. I was one of the weird kids who grew up liking lima beans—in fact, I asked for them every birthday dinner (why my mother didn’t just serve them to me on a regular basis I’m not really sure). Fava beans to me are a jacked-up version of lima beans, so you can imagine how much I like them. I feature them in this sauce, but then I tuck some sweet pea and cheese action into the ravioli so you get a little pocket of pea-ness on your plate along with those lovely favas!
Recipe information
Yield
serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil and set up a bowl of well-salted ice water. Drop the peas in the boiling water, let the water return to a boil, and cook the peas for 2 more minutes. Scoop the peas out of the water and plunge them immediately into the ice water. When the peas are cool, remove them from the ice water and reserve. Repeat this process with the fava beans. When the favas are cool, peel off the tough outer layer and reserve the beans.
Step 2
In a food processor, pulse the peas to make a coarse paste. In a large bowl, combine the pea paste, ricotta, Parmigiano, and eggs; mix well, season with salt, and taste to make sure it’s delicious.
Step 3
To assemble the ravioli, dust a clean work surface lightly with flour and lay out sheets of pasta about 12 inches long; use a pastry brush to brush the bottom half of the pasta sheets lightly with water. Fill a disposable pastry bag (or a zip-top bag with one corner cut out) with the pea mixture and pipe 1-inch balls of filling onto the pasta about 1 1/2 inches apart. Fold the top half of the pasta sheet over the filling so the top edge meets the bottom edge. Use your index fingers to press around the filling and seal the edges shut. Use a fluted ring cutter or fluted pasta roller to cut out the ravioli; put them on a baking sheet dusted with semolina.
Step 4
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
Step 5
Bring a large saucepan to medium heat and add the butter and 1 cup of the chicken stock; season with salt. When the butter has melted, add the fava beans.
Step 6
Add the ravioli to the boiling water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes; scoop out the ravioli and add them to the sauce. Cook the ravioli in the sauce for a couple of minutes, shaking the pan frequently, until the sauce begins to thicken and cling to the pasta. If the sauce seems too thick, add a bit more stock. Put five ravioli on each serving plate, spoon a little extra sauce and some fava beans over each, and sprinkle with Parm to serve.
