Ah, pasta, my old friend. This pasta sauce is a great way to use up fresh broad beans in early summer, or frozen will work perfectly any time of the year, and would admittedly save the ritual of podding the beans – although secretly this is part of the fun, the pods feel so weirdly fluffy and velvety inside. This is a creamy yet refreshing dish and most types of pasta will work well, although I am always partial to spaghetti or linguine. Marjoram is a lovely herb and very easy to grow if you can’t find it fresh in the shops; it has a lovely floral taste that I think goes very well with the beans and the creamy sauce. Basil will work just as well.
Enjoy!
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...Ingredients
- 200g broad beans
- 50g pistachios
- 1 clove garlic
- Handful of fresh marjoram
- 2 tablespoons ricotta
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- Salt, pepper, olive oil
Instructions
To prepare the broad beans, first remove from their pods then blanch them in boiling, salted water for 1 minute. When cooled, you can remove the outer husks and you will be left with the bright green beans inside. Put these to one side.
Cook your chosen pasta according to packet instructions. As always, undercook it by one minute and reserve a few tablespoons of the starchy cooking pasta water.
Toast the pistachios in a dry pan for 2-3 minutes and set aside to cool.
Combine the beans, pistachios and garlic in a food processor and blend well. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and marjoram to the blender and give another whizz until you have a smooth sauce.
Drain the pasta and return to the pan and combine with the sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serve with a few marjoram leaves, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
