Pastificio Carleschi, Emmer & Fava Bean, Sedani, 400g

There are many reasons why we, at Carleschi, are so proud of our Emmer and Fava bean pasta. First of all, it is the result of a very exciting collaboration with Hodmedod’s in Suffolk.  They work together with local farmers to search out and develop production of British grains and pulses (beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas). As soon as we met with Nick & Josiah we straight away knew that a pasta made with Hodmedod’s British Emmer and Fava bean would be brilliant.

Pasta made with pulses and cereals isn’t new in the Italian tradition, mostly because it tastes delicious, but also because the combination of grain and pulses is just nutritionally fantastic. Emmer is a very healthy cereal that’s rich in fibre, protein, minerals, carotenoids, other vitamins and antioxidant components, and poor in fats.

Fava beans too are dense with nutrition and have no saturated fat or cholesterol. They boost a high concentration of vitamins (thiamin, vitamin K, vitamin B-6), minerals (potassium, copper, selenium, zinc, magnesium), protein and fibre nobili (soluble fibre) at one third of the calories content of grains.

In short, if you combine Emmer and Fava bean together then you have a super-pasta: packed with nutrients, soluble and insoluble fibre, a complete source of lean natural protein at a much lower intake of calories, isn’t that great?

To make sure not to burn out all this goodness; we slow dry our pasta at a low temperature. And, we take all the time it needs to make sure that our Emmer and Fava Bean, Sedani Rigati, cooks perfectly al dente in 8 minutes.

We think it looks and taste delicious: it possesses a wonderful velvety rough surface; has a deep yet delicate chestnut colour; and an intense sweet flavour with a gentle hint of fresh fava bean, reminiscent of those summer days when you squeeze the beans out of their pods.