Spaghetti with fava bean and yogurt sauce
April 7, 2010 • Category: Main Dish
The Palestinian grocer in my neighborhood has been unloading mountains of fresh fava beans; here is an easy and tasty way to prepare them.
INGREDIENTS:
- 8 ounces of spaghetti, whole-wheat if you wish
- 1 pound of fava beans, fresh or frozen
- 4 cloves of garlic, mashed with a dash of salt
- 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro (or parsley, or basil)
- 8 ounces of yogurt
- olive oil, as needed
METHOD:
- Make the cilantro pesto: If you don’t like cilantro, substitute parsley or basil.
- Chop the cilantro, mash the garlic with a dash of salt in a mortar; heat some olive oil and fry the two for a few seconds till fragrant (no more than 30 seconds, please). Set aside.
- Cook the fava beans in salted water till tender, letting the water evaporate or leave a quarter cup of water in the pot. Add the cilantro pesto to the fava beans, add the yogurt, mix well, taste and adjust seasoning.
- Cook the spaghetti in lots of boiling water, drain and add to the sauce. Serve immediately.
Comments
42 Comments • Comments Feed
Bridgett says:
This pasta looks so decadent in the creamy yogurt sauce. I could definitely get used to having this for dinner!
On April 7, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Azita says:
I love fava beans and this is a great recipe. Looks so creamy and tasty! love it!
On April 7, 2010 at 10:11 pm
Devaki says:
What a lovely vegetarian yummy creamy delicious pasta Joumana! What lovely things you make 🙂
Ciao, Devaki
On April 7, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Sushma Mallya says:
looks so creamy and really nicely done…very nice one, never added fava beans while doing spaghetti…..will surely try it next time
On April 7, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Priya says:
Creamy yogurt sauce sounds interesting and new for me..Lovely spaghetti dish to enjoy without any guilt..
On April 8, 2010 at 1:22 am
MaryMoh says:
Never thought of yoghurt in pasta. This looks very creamy, healthy and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
On April 8, 2010 at 1:39 am
Cherine says:
this is an original tasty recipe!
On April 8, 2010 at 1:44 am
Angie's Recipes says:
I love love this creamy yogurt sauce! Nice plating too,
On April 8, 2010 at 2:14 am
anncoo says:
Absolutely beautiful and healthy. Lovely color.
On April 8, 2010 at 3:39 am
heni says:
I saw a similar recipe on Tobias cooks with courgette not fava beans. I tried it out and the family loved it so going to try yours as well joumana!
On April 8, 2010 at 3:46 am
peter says:
This IS healthy and creamy..hard combo to come by. So…what kind of yogurt are you using here? 😉
On April 8, 2010 at 4:18 am
Joumana says:
just grabbed a pot at the Palestinian grocer and it had weird scribbles on it and in english it said “yogurt, 99% fat free”; so I thought, you are my man! and I bought it! Could it be Greek?I think it is Greek’s best friend, the Armenian!
On April 8, 2010 at 6:13 am
Sonia says:
Wow…this spaghetti really looks nice and creamy. Very neat pics! Lovely and interesting recipe. Should try sometime. 🙂
On April 8, 2010 at 5:57 am
kim says:
A great summery meal! Btw, what’s your thought of combining hot pasta with cold yogurt? Would it create a negative effect since yogurt is a dairy?
On April 8, 2010 at 6:54 am
Louise says:
I have such a difficult time warming up to fava beans. I’ll have to keep this recipe idea in mind the next time I get the urge to try them again. As you know, I always have a fresh batch of yogurt in the fridge.
Thanks for sharing, Joumana
On April 8, 2010 at 6:55 am
T.W. Barritt says:
What a gorgeous, springtime dish! I love fava beans – I don’t usually enjoy shelling the beans, but for a pasta like this, it would be well worth the effort!
On April 8, 2010 at 7:06 am
Mona Diab says:
Joumana,
Just want to say that your blog and you really are inspiring me, Whenever I dont know what to cook, I open your blog and find a solution. Thank you for the ideas and the healthy tone found in your recipies.
/Mona
On April 8, 2010 at 8:40 am
Sonia says:
fava beans is new to me, but your pasta look so creamy, yummy and healthy! Well done.
On April 8, 2010 at 9:19 am
Lori says:
I’m always tempted to buy fava beans, but I’ve never quite sure what to do with them. This sounds delicious! Now I have more courage to give them a try. 🙂
On April 8, 2010 at 10:05 am
Trissa says:
I adore fava beans, never had it with pasta before (much less with pasta with yogurt!) but it sounds like a refreshing meal!
On April 8, 2010 at 10:29 am
The KitchenMasochist says:
This is my first time seeing yoghurt used with pasta. You’re so creative! : )
Your creationg looks very pretty.
Shame fava beans are expensive here in the PH. 🙁
On April 8, 2010 at 11:17 am
5 Star Foodie says:
I love the idea of a yogurt sauce with spaghetti! Yum!
On April 8, 2010 at 11:43 am
Joanne says:
Fava beans are just such delicious things…if only they weren’t such a pain to prepare!
This looks so creamy. It’s putting me in pasta heaven.
On April 8, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Arlette says:
Great Posting….
I didnt taste this since I left Lebanon… I grow Fava Beans in my garden, but i just eating raw I forgot about this recipe…. oh my .
thanks Joumana for reminding me .
On April 8, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Arlette says:
I love my mom’s foul bzeit instead of the meat… and completely forgot about it.
On April 8, 2010 at 12:43 pm
TastyTrix says:
So jealous! I wish my grocer were unloading mountains of fava beans! Fresh ones are a tad pricey around here, but honestly so worth it. This is a great dish.
On April 8, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Doc says:
Looks delicious,
and I hear Fava beans are good with Chianti 😉
On April 8, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Faith says:
This pasta dish sounds so light and fresh with that yogurt sauce! I’m always looking for new sauces for pasta, I’ve got to try this!
On April 8, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Emily says:
I love fava beans. Too bad I couldn’t get them where I live now. I do love the idea of yoghurt in pasta, perhap I can try them some other beans/legumes i.e chickpeas?
On April 8, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Christaleigh05@yahoo says:
Just found your blog and I love it! so many creative ideas/recipes 🙂 can’t wait to browse around!
-Mini Baker
On April 8, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Michelle says:
Just tried fava beans for the first time and we love them! I can’t wait to add them to some more of my recipes!
On April 9, 2010 at 9:39 am
Hannah says:
I have never seen anything like this, but I desperately want it. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be served this on my 30 hour plane expeditioning home today…
See, all last year I (no joke) ate fava beans every night as a snack. Seriously, there were probably ten days in the whole year I didn’t. So I’m in love with this idea…
On April 10, 2010 at 6:39 am
PHILO says:
Merci de ton passage sur mon blog qui me permet de découvrir le tien que je trouve vraiment beau.
Moi les plats de pâtes j’adore à toutes les sauces. Tu me régales
On April 11, 2010 at 3:30 am
Lori says:
That looks so good. Wow you have incredible food on your site! All so flavorful and healthy sounding.
On April 11, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Dana Haydock says:
What a wonderful recipe. I had some extra red bell pepper and purple onion in the fridge, so I augmented the fava beans with these two ingredients. Turned out to be a lovely and tasty dinner. Thanks for posting this recipe!
On April 25, 2010 at 9:10 am
westomoon says:
I live in an area where favas are the only beans that really grow well, so they’re always in my garden. I’ve been just steaming and eating them, so I’m really excited by this recipe.
For all the people who commented on what a pain it is to shell favas: you don’t need to look at what you’re doing, or pay any attention at all, so this is a great task to do while you’re having a conversation or watching TV. Or maybe even reading a book! Makes it much less boring.
On August 20, 2010 at 7:24 am
pasta maker says:
Now this one looks very delicious. Thank you for sharing. This will be my dinner tonight. But, I don’t have some of the ingredients.. I will have to find some substitutes. I wonder if that would spoil the taste.. Trying won’t harm right? 🙂
Hope my family enjoys this dish!
Anyway, green spaghetti recipe, very healthy for the body!
On March 17, 2011 at 9:28 pm