Favas with Tiny Pasta

This chilled pasta salad pairs fava beans with tiny pasta shapes and blanched carrots in a sharp red wine vinegar dressing spiked with dry mustard and basil. It’s lean, clean, and meant to marinate for at least two hours so the flavors soak into every component.

Blanching the carrots for just three minutes is a deliberate choice. You want them tender enough to absorb the dressing but still firm enough to add crunch against the soft favas and pasta. Raw carrots would stay too hard; fully cooked carrots would turn to mush after hours in the vinegar marinade.

The dressing uses almost no oil, with just a teaspoon of vegetable oil whisked into red wine vinegar, basil, and dry mustard. The mustard acts as a natural emulsifier, holding the dressing together and adding a peppery bite. This is a salad that tastes clean and bright, not heavy or oily.

Pro Tips

• Use small pasta shapes like ditalini, orzo, or acini di pepe. They’re proportional to the beans and carrot slices, so every forkful gets a balanced mix.
• Serve at room temperature, not straight from the fridge. Cold dulls the vinegar and mustard flavors. Pull it out 20 minutes before serving.
• Snip the chives rather than chopping with a knife. Snipping produces cleaner cuts that look prettier and release more flavor.
• Taste after marinating and adjust the vinegar if needed. The pasta absorbs acid as it sits, and the salad may need a splash more.

Variations

• Add diced roasted red peppers for color and smoky sweetness.
• Toss in crumbled feta cheese for a salty, creamy contrast to the lean dressing.
• Swap favas for cannellini beans or chickpeas if favas aren’t available.