Favas and Romano cheese are a classic Italian combination, from simply eating small early favas and slices of young Romano to mixing them in dishes. I recently had company that did not eat dairy, but I wanted to use pesto. If you taste a fresh young fava it has a cheesy taste, with a little tang and that hard-to-define eau de barnyard funk, along with a slightly gritty yet creamy texture. Just like Romano cheese. Turns out that tender young favas make an excellent substitute for Romano cheese in pesto. Use this vegan pesto as you would a regular pesto.
INGREDIENTS:
1 large pinch flaky salt such as Kosher or Maldon
40 tender medium sized basil leaves
1 large-ish garlic clove, peeled and de-germed
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon roasted almonds
¼ cup, very full, young tender favas, blanched 2-3 minutes until tender but not mushy, shelled and peeled
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or as needed
Pepper, and salt if needed, to taste
METHOD:
Put the salt and 5 basil leaves into a large mortar and grind firmly, moving the mortar in a circular motion against the sides and bottom of the mortar until they break down. Keep adding leaves until they are all in. You should have a slightly wet paste.
Add the garlic and tap firmly with the pestle to break down. Then crush it as the basil was.
When the garlic is pulverized and mixed in with the basil, add the nuts, a ½-tablespoon at a time and crush them before adding more.
When they are all in, grind to a uniform consistency. Not too fine, but not coarse either. Make a well in the center of the mortar and add ½ the favas. Break them down with the pestle. Add the rest and proceed to mash. Stir everything together, mashing large bits of fava as you see them. Begin adding olive oil in a steady stream while stirring with the pestle, working to achieve a creamy consistency. Add enough oil so the pesto moves like a thick sauce rather than a paste. Taste, add pepper and salt if needed, and stir in.
If you are going to store it for any length of time, transfer to t ajar and add a thin layer of oil to the surface to keep from oxidizing.
Flavors should stay fresh for 3-4 days.
Food Processor Version:
A food processor can heat up in the work bowl and your pesto can cook to a nasty khaki color, so keep on top of things.
Crush the garlic and add to the processor. Process finely.
Add the nuts and pulse to break up uniformly.
Add the favas and pulse to just break up.
Add the basil and pulse to just shred the leaves.
Add 3 tablespoons oil and pureé 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides and pureé 15 seconds more. Check the consistency. Add more oil if needed, and check to see if the pesto is fine enough for your tastes. It should still have texture, but no large chunks. Taste for salt and pepper, season as needed and pulse to mix in or pureé further as needed.
When done, store as above.
Chef’s Notes: Use this pesto as you would any other. Besides on noodles, try it with Israeli couscous, on fish, in a soup, or tossed with summer squash.
Yield: Around ¾-1 cup
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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