Orecchiette with Broad Beans and Tomatoes [Vegetarian]

Although in summer I prepare a lot of salads for us, it is nice to have something just slightly heavier from time to time, like pasta. Since hot weather doesn’t really go that well (at least in my opinion) with heavy and creamy sauces, one day I came up with this tasty pasta recipe below.

The great advantage of this dish is that the majority of ingredients I used are probably available in lots of kitchens on daily basis with broad beans being the only exception. I usually buy, cook and shell 1 kilo at a time and that way the preparation of this pasta dish takes me 20 minutes - the time I need to cook the orecchiette. If you don’t already have cooked broad beans, the preparation will take you a bit longer. But it is worth it as you will end up with a perfect, summer dish: pretty light but filling enough so that you will not look for a snack just an hour after your lunch.

INGREDIENTS (for 2 portions):

150g orecchiette,

3 tbsp olive oil,

1 shallot, finely chopped,

1 garlic clove, finely sliced,

200g cherry tomatoes, cut in halves,

3 anchovies, chopped,

150g cooked broad beans, shelled (or 300g, if you are cooking them fresh and still have to shell them)

salt and pepper,

grated Parmesan cheese to serve.

METHOD:

1. Boil the pasta in the salted water as per packet instruction.
2. On a medium heat warm up the olive oil, add the shallot, fry for a minute, add the garlic and fry for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the anchovies and tomatoes, cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes soften; add the broad beans and warm up.
4. Drain the pasta but keep half a cup of the cooking liquid.
5. Add the pasta to the sauce, stir and if it is too dry add a few tablespoons of pasta water, check the taste and season.
6. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.