Ingredients
- 12 oz foglie d'ulivo pasta (olive leaf-shaped pasta)
- 7 oz fresh fava beans
- 5 oz Pecorino Romano cheese
- 3½ oz guanciale (cured pork cheek)
- 1 garlic clove
- Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- Fresh mint leaves, to taste
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preparation
Blanch the fava beans in salted water for 3-4 minutes. Drain and peel the skins off (especially from the larger beans). Let them cool.
In a food processor, blitz the fava beans with olive oil, a handful of Pecorino, mint, and pepper (no salt needed).
In a large pan, crisp up the guanciale without adding any oil. Remove and set aside.
In the rendered guanciale fat, golden the garlic clove, then remove it. Add the fava bean cream to the pan and let it take on the flavors.
Cook the pasta until al dente, drain, and toss in the pan with the fava cream and guanciale. If it seems dry, loosen with a splash of pasta cooking water.
Plate up, dust with Pecorino, and top with pieces of the crispy guanciale.
