Pasta with Beans & Herbs

Ingredients:

  • Salt
  • 1-2 lbs fava or lima beans, about 1 ½-2 cups shelled
  • 1 c small sized pasta
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
  • 4 sprigs mint plus 1 tbsp finely chopped mint, dried may be used
  • 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp vegan butter (Earth Balance or similar)
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Instructions:

If using fresh beans:

  1. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
  2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fava or lima beans and cook for 30 seconds.
  3. Remove and transfer the beans to the ice water. Let cool and then peel off their skins.

Add pasta to boiling water and reserve  1 ½ c  of cooking water, then drain the pasta.

Heat olive oil, garlic, all but 1 tbsp of the mint, and all but 2 tbsp of the scallions in a large skillet. Cook, stirring until scallions are soft.

Add the favas/limas and 1 cup of the reserved cooking water. Bring to a simmer and cook 8-10 min, until the beans are tender.

Add the pasta to the skillet and cook, tossing until it absorbs some of the sauce. Stir in the vegan butter, parsley, reserved mint & scallions, and salt and pepper to taste.