Potato, Mint & Pecorino Tortelli with Fava Beans and Tomatoes

Boil large pot of salted water. Wash potatoes well, add to boiling water. Boil until well-cooked. Remove from heat, allow to cool enough to handle, peel, and pass through vegetable mill or mash with potato masher in medium bowl. Cool completely. Finely grate Pecorino cheese, set aside. Finely mince mint, set aside. 

Once potatoes are fully cooled, add Pecorino and mint. Mix well.

A note regarding mint:  we recommend using fresh mint.  If only dried available, substitute to taste with dried mint.

In medium bowl, blend semola flour with eggs, and knead to reach smooth, soft consistency holding its shape when formed into ball.  Continue kneading dough with your palm on floured working space. Knead until dough is soft, elastic, and compact. Shape dough into ball, cover with plastic wrap to maintain elasticity. Rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap, continue kneading dough while shaping into rectangle approximately the width of pasta machine to be used. Begin rolling out dough using prepared pasta machine, generously dusting machine with semola to prevent dough from sticking. Flatten dough through machine until desired thickness is reached, adjusting knobs to make dough thinner with each passage.

Dust working space well with semola. Place pasta sheet on top of work space, and with round pasta cutter, cut out individual shapes, being sure to cut the dough as neatly as possible without creating waste. With kitchen brush, gently place small amount of water on top of each shape. Place small teaspoon of filling slightly off-center on each shape. Cover shape by lifting up larger side and cover filling entirely with this side of shape. Using fingers, gently press down around filling, eliminating as much air as possible. Press borders down firmly to seal. Join two points of each sealed pasta shape to create tortello form.

Dust tray with semola flour, and place completed tortelli shapes on top.

Clean fava beans, setting aside only inner bean. Wash and dry tomatoes, and cut each tomato into 4 parts. Coat bottom of medium sauté pan with extra-virgin olive oil, heat oil. Once heated, add garlic and allow to cook few minutes. Lower heat, add cleaned fava beans to pan, allowing all ingredients to blend together. Add tomatoes. Remove garlic clove, adjust to taste with salt.

Heat large soup pot with salted water and bring to boil. Add tortelli, boil until cooked through. Drain well, add to sauté pan with sauce and blend well.

Place servings on individual plates, and garnish generously with shaved Pecorino slices.

A note regarding Pecorino cheese:  Chef Michele recommends using seasoned, aged cheese.  You'll also need extra Pecorino at the end to garnish your pasta.  

A note regarding Fava beans:  Chef Michele recommends using fresh beans. If only frozen available, use thawed beans.