NewsBite

Advertisement
Good Food logo

Fettuccine with dried broad beans and toasted breadcrumbs

Neil Perry
Neil Perry

Advertisement
Soaked broad beans gives this pasta sauce a super-creamy texture.
Soaked broad beans gives this pasta sauce a super-creamy texture.William Meppem

This is a brilliant vegetarian dish, inspired by a recipe I adapted from one of the nonnas in the cookbook Pasta Grannies. Once you've soaked the beans overnight, it's so simple and the sauce's texture is super-creamy. This breadcrumb mixture adds great texture; I use it on most seafood and vegetable pastas when I don't add cheese. I don't think you need cheese, but if you must, some freshly grated parmesan is fine. Serve with a salad and a glass of good wine.

Advertisement

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

  • 1 small onion, finely diced

  • 1 small carrot, finely diced

  • 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

  • 1 tsp fennel seeds, roasted and crushed

  • 400g dried broad beans, soaked overnight

  • 400g fettuccine

Toasted breadcrumbs

  • 4 tbsp sourdough breadcrumbs

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method

  1. 1. To make the toasted breadcrumbs, preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Spread the sourdough crumbs on a tray and drizzle with the olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a plate with paper towel to absorb the leftover oil. When cool, mix the parsley and breadcrumbs together.

    2. Pour the olive oil into a non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, chilli flakes, fennel seeds and season with sea salt. Cook the vegetables until they have softened, about 7-10 minutes. 

    3. Add the broad beans and cover with about 1.5 litres (6 cups) water. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the beans are falling apart and creating a creamy sauce. Stir from time to time to stop them sticking.

    4. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the fettuccine for about 1 minute less than the instructions on the packet. Add a couple of large spoonfuls of the pasta water to the bean sauce. Drain the pasta and toss it through the sauce.

    5. Divide among 4 pasta bowls, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture before serving.

    Three recipes from the Pasta Grannies cookbook

The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.

Sign up
Neil PerryNeil Perry is a restaurateur, chef and former Good Weekend columnist.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement

Similar Recipes

More by Neil Perry

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/goodfood/recipes/fettuccine-with-broad-beans-and-toasted-breadcrumbs-20200609-h1omim.html