John Pleshette’s Fettuccine with Favas and Morels

I always look forward to actor and foodie John Pleshette's meals-of-the-week.  Enjoy!

Fettuccine with Favas and Morels

Fettuccine with Favas and Morels
Serves 4

1 lb of fettuccine or a pasta of your choice
2 lbs or fresh fava beans
1/2 lb of fresh morel mushrooms
2 scallions
3 cloves of garlic
dry white wine
fresh-grated Parmesan
chives
Italian parsley
Fresh tarragon

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil.  Fill a bowl with iced water.

Meanwhile, shell the fava beans.  Drop them in the boiling water and cook for one minute.  Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into iced water; drain.  Pinch off one end of each fava and squeeze out the green kernel inside.

If the morels are sandy, fill the sink with lukewarm water and rinse morels of grit or sand.  Drain in a colander.  Gently squeeze out as much water as you can; roll in a tea towel. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add fettuccine.  Meanwhile, trim and slice scallions into 1/2-inch rounds.  Peel garlic and slice thinly. 

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and a splash of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.  When butter stops foaming, add the morels and cook for about 3 minutes.  Add scallions and garlic and continue cooking until they are soft but not browned. 

Add 1/2 of white wine.  Raise heat and cook till wine has almost evaporated. 

Skim 1/2 cup of starchy water from the pasta pot.  When the fettuccine is al dente, drain in a colander, then add to the sauté pan.  Cook over medium heat, adding some of the pasta water and 1/2 cup of grated parmesan.  add the fava beans and the leaves from two sprigs of tarragon.   Toss over heat for another 30 seconds, adding more pasta water if necessary.

Serve with parmesan, fresh chives and parsely on the side.

CellarWise Wine Pairing

Though Hannibal Lecter preferred a nice Chianti with his favas, the inclusion of morels instinctively makes me think Pinot Noir. As consumers, the landscape is shifting our way in Oregon as a number of under-$20 Pinot bottlings are hitting the market. Morels are incredibly well suited to the Willamette Valley version of Pinot’s flavors, simplifying this match. The much-maligned ’07 vintage in Oregon is misjudged, in my mind, as the pure feminine flavors of the grape seem to show through in very pretty wines. Look for under-$20 ‘07s from J. Christopher, Ayres, McKinlay, Grochau Cellars, & Wallace Brook (second label of respected Adelsheim), all simply labeled Willamette Valley. A non-vintage bottling from Brick House (NV Cuvee) is similarly shroom-friendly. Caliphiles may prefer wines from Roessler, Sanford, Au Bon Climat, and Melville, all under $25. Enjoy.