Fava & Pistachio Pesto on Pasta from Six Seasons p 95.
The recipe has you blanch the basil and half the garlic. The other 2 cloves of garlic are gently cooked in olive oil with red chile flakes and are never called for again in the recipe. No worries, I just threw it in at the end. Half of the favas go into the pesto and the rest get tossed with the pasta.
The combination of blanched and cooked garlic plus the sweet, nutty favas and pistachios give this pesto a rich, mellow flavor that's quite different from the bracing sharpness I expect from traditional basil pesto. This is excellent as is and would be delicious with some shrimp or seared scallops on top. Two thumbs up.
While I was prepping the fava beans, I noted the book has 6 fava bean recipes which call for a total of 16 pounds of fava beans (in their pods). Delicious as they may be, I can say for sure that I won't be shelling, blanching and peeling 16 lbs worth anytime soon. I needed a cocktail just to get through the ones for this recipe!
