Day 5

Fava beans... They've been staring at me since Tuesday. I've been avoiding them all week, hoping to come up with something creative. Everything I could think of required making a puree, and these favas were too fresh to mess with their texture. Just look: I've been wanting to make gnudi for a while (and reminded by last week's gnudi dish on Top Chef) so I thought I'd try it out and just add the fresh favas! Gnudi is a type of pasta made with ricotta cheese and it has the texture of a fluffy dumpling. My gnudi recipe is based on one from Epicurious, with a few tweaks.

Whole Wheat Gnudi, Fava Beans and Bay Leaf Wine Sauce
Serves 2 (with a few leftovers)

Gnudi:
1/2 pound ricotta cheese (strained overnight)
1 fresh egg
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Zest from 1/2 lemon

Pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, plus additional for coating

1.)Mix ricotta, egg, cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl and sprinkle with flour. Stir to combine and chill 1 hour.
2.)Gently roll a small spoonful of ricotta dough into a ball. Toss lightly in extra flour forming into a log or ball. Place aside and chill.
3.)Boil gnudi in salted water until tender, around 7-8 minutes.

Fava Beans:
2 cups fresh favas, shelled

1.)Blanch favas in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Shock in cold water and slip favas from their bitter skin.

Bay leaf Wine Sauce:
1 cup dry white wine
2 large bay leaves
2 cloves garlic
2 cups heavy cream
Salt and white pepper to taste

1.) Simmer wine, bay leaves, and garlic until reduced to a syrup, around 15-20 minutes. Add cream and keep warm. Remove bay leaf before pouring sauce over the gnudi and fava beans. Enjoy!

Sorry about the lighting, it was getting dark outside!