Orecchiette with Sausage and Fresh Fava Beans in a Rosemary Sage Mint Sauce

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh orecchiette pasta
  • 4 tablespoons of butter
  • 3 sweet sausage links and 
  • 2 hot sausage links
  • 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary
  • 4 fresh mint leaves
  • 1 fresh sage sprig with at least 5-10 leaves
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 small shallot
  • 3 tablespoons of flour
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups fresh fava beans
  • 1 cup of dry white wine
  • 1 cup parmesan reggiano
  • 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon pepper

Directions

  1. Sauté sausage out of casing, drain fat on paper towel, set aside
  2. Boil 1 pound of orecchiette pasta till al-dente
  3. Fava beans: remove from pod and blanche in salty boiling water for 3 min, remove outer shell and set aside
  4. Mince 4 cloves of garlic and 1 small shallot
  5. Mince very finely 1 tablespoon of fresh sage, ¼ tablespoon fresh rosemary and 1 mint leave, set aside
  6. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a pat of butter, add shallots and shortly after add garlic
  7. Shortly after that add whole sage sprig with 5-6 leaves and 1 whole mint leaf and one sprig of rosemary for flavor
  8. Add fava bean and sausage
  9. Salt and pepper generously 
  10. Add 1 cup of wine and let alcohol cook out
  11. Remove whole herbs
  12. Have 3 tablespoons of roux ready (3 tablespoons butter to 3 tablespoon flour)
  13. Shorty after adding roux, lower heat, whisk thoroughly, add chicken broth as necessary to determine your desired sauce thickness
  14. Add sausage and 3 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan Regiano cheese
  15. Add pasta with a ¼ cup of pasta water, 1 tablespoon of butter, 3 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and freshly minced herbs
  16. Let cook for 30 seconds…. toss generously 
  17. Transfer to pasta serving bowl and add freshly julienned sage and ½ mint leaf and fresh Parmesan cheese.