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Lolli con Fave (Pasta with Fava Beans)

5 from 2 votes
Lolli con Fave is a traditional Sicilian dish from Modica, featuring creamy fava beans, vegetables, and homemade pasta. This hearty, naturally vegan one-pot stew is a prime example of Cucina Povera, Italy's "kitchen of the poor," turning simple ingredients into a flavorful, rich meal. Enjoy the unique combination of slowly simmered vegetables and beans, creating a comforting dish that highlights the authentic flavors of Sicily.
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Prep Time1 hour
+ Soaking 12 hours
Total Time2 hours 15 minutes
Servings4

Ingredients 
 

Fava Beans

  • 300 g fava beans
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 potato
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 l water
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Chilli flakes

Lolli

  • 300 g semolina flour (durum wheat flour)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 150 ml lukewarm water

Instructions 

  1. Soak the fava beans together with the baking soda in around 1.5l of water overnight.
  2. The next day, peel and roughly chop the onion and potato, then roughly chop the carrot and celery sticks. Drain the fava beans, give them a rinse and add them to a large pan along with the chopped veg, bay leaf, tomato paste and water. Bring to a boil, then cover the pan with a lid and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the fava beans are tender and the potatoes have disintegrated, stirring occasionally to avoid the starches sticking to the bottom of the pan (see Notes to use a pressure cooker). Also make sure you have plenty of space left in the pan, otherwise the liquid will rise and boil over. If the pan isn’t large enough, keep the lid ajar and top up the water when necessary.
  3. In the meantime, make the lolli. Tip the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the salt and extra virgin olive oil to the well, then pour in about half of the water and begin to mix everything together into a rough dough, adding the rest of the water little by little as you go. Once it’s all come together, knead the dough for around 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. At this point, you can cover the dough with a bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes to let the gluten develop, which will make it easier to handle. But for this pasta shape you can also continue straightaway. When you’re ready, cut the dough into 1/2 cm slices and roll each slice into a 1 cm wide cords, similar to breadsticks (make sure to cover the dough you’re not handling with a towel to prevent it from drying out). Then use a knife to cut each cord into 5 cm pieces. Use your index, middle and ring finger to drag each piece of dough over the surface to make the lolli shape. Continue with the rest of the dough until all of the pasta is ready. You can keep the shaped pasta on a lightly floured baking tray until later.
  4. At this point, the fava beans should have absorbed most of the water but still be just about covered. Season them with the salt and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cook for another 10 minutes to let the beans absorb the salt. In the meantime, bring a kettle of water to a boil.
  5. Add the lolli straight into the pan with the beans*, add enough boiling water from the kettle to generously cover them and cook them for around 10 minutes until they still have a pleasant chew, but no chalkiness in the centre. By now, the leftover liquid should have turned into a creamy sauce, but you can still remove any excess water if necessary.
  6. *Tip: If I intend to keep half of the stew for the next day, I also only cook half of the pasta. In that case, dust a baking tray with semolina flour, transfer half of the lolli onto the tray and leave them overnight.
  7. When the pasta is ready, divide the lolli con fave over 4 plates and finish it with some chilli flakes and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Notes

Storage: Refrigerate the leftover bean stew for 2-3 days in the fridge. Dry out any leftover lolli on a tray at room temperature for 1-2 days. Then either use immediately, or store in a jar for a week.
Pressure Cooker: To cook the beans in a pressure cooker, use only 750ml of water and add the salt and olive oil as well. Cook for around 15 minutes, then stir in the pasta and continue as above.