500g whole broad beans peeled to yield about 400g of shelled beans
1 tsp of chopped rosemary (fresh)
50g of pistachio nuts (shelled)
50g of butter
1 tbsp of olive oil
100g of pancetta thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
500g of linguini or similar pasta
salt and pepper
Shaved parmesan to serve
1. Boil the broad beans in a small amount of boing water for 2-3 minutes and rinse in cold water. Peel discarding the skins and keeping the beans aside.
2. Place the beans into a food processor with the rosemary and the pistachio nuts and pulse until combined.
3. Bring a large pot of salty water to the boil and cook the pasta as directed on the packet.
4. While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter and the oil over a moderate temperature in a heavy-based pan large enough to eventually fit the pasta.
5. Tear the pancetta into shreds and fry this in the butter and oil until golden. Don’t freak out over the amount of butter or oil as this will form the sauce.
6. Cook the pancetta for 4-5 minutes until it starts to brown, turn off the heat and add the garlic, a generous amount of cracked black pepper and the lemon zest.
7. When the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta reserving about 2 cups of the pasta water.
8. Add the pasta directly into the pan with the pancetta, add in about 1/3 cup of pasta water and stir. Add into the broad bean mix another ¼ – 1/3 cup of pasta water and stir it to loosen the mix.
9. Toss this through the pasta and then serve the whole lot scattered with shaved or grated parmesan cheese.
Notes:
Pancetta is cured pork belly and an Italian staple. It is easy to find in most supermarkets although you can use ham or bacon if you can’t find any. It’s important when cooking pasta that the water is salty like the sea, so a good tablespoon of salt per litre of water.
Serves 6
