Cheese Tortellini Pasta with Fava Beans and Herbed Ricotta

A bowl of tortellini pasta tossed with fava beans, tomatoes and herbed ricotta cheese.

4.60 from 5 votes

Cheese Tortellini Pasta with Fava Beans and Herbed Ricotta

Toss warm cheese tortellini with herbed ricotta cheese, sautéed tomatoes, scallions, and fava beans for a hearty pasta dinner. See the post for make-ahead tips!

Prep Time35

Cook Time25

Total Time1

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: cheese tortellini, fava beans

Servings:

Calories: 589.1kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

Fava Beans and Pasta

3 pounds fava bean pods
16 ounce package of cheese tortellini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced (white bulbs and stalks)
3 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt or a pinch of sea salt

Herbed Ricotta

½ cup ricotta cheese see the Ingredient Notes in the post
¼ cup chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
½ teaspoon Kosher salt or ¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
Shell the fava beans. You should have about 3 cups of beans.
Add the beans to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes to blanch them.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the beans from the water and set them aside until they're cool enough to handle. Cover the pot of water with a lid to keep the water hot.
When the fava beans are cool enough to handle, peel them by pinching the slightly bulbous top, and tearing it off. You can also use a sharp paring knife to do this. Split open the outer shell of the fava bean by using the paring knife along the seam of the shell to reveal a bright green inner bean.
Sometimes there may be some fiber of the bean shell at the seam you can pull to open the seam.
Discard the outer tough shell of the fava bean. You should have about two cups of the bright green fava beans. Set aside.
Add the cheese tortellini to the water and cook according to the directions on the box. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
Stir together all of the ingredients for the Herbed Ricotta in a small bowl.
Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, and add the scallions. Sauté them until slightly softened and fragrant.
Add the tomatoes, garlic, and salt. Cook for a few minutes until the juices of the tomatoes are released.
Remove the skillet from the heat, add the drained pasta, and stir in the Herbed Ricotta. Stir in enough pasta water to create a creamy sauce. Don't add it all at once; just a little at a time. Gently fold in the fava beans.
Transfer to a serving platter, top with freshly grated Parmesan, and serve warm.

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