Last spring, shortly after we returned to Umbria for the season, we spent a morning wandering the hilltop town of Todi. The visit was one of those pleasant, unplanned outings—perhaps timed with the monthly antique market or the spring flower show—and it felt good to stroll the narrow streets, admire the views and take in the effortless pace of life.
For lunch we stopped at Pizzeria Cavour, where tables on the patio look out across the Umbrian countryside. The menu offers a wide selection of pizzas, including a few seasonal specials. I was immediately curious when I saw a white pizza (no tomato sauce) topped with fresh fava beans, so I ordered it. The pie arrived with a layer of melted mozzarella dotted with a bright green fava-bean pesto and scattered black olives. The flavors were subtle rather than assertive—the creaminess of the cheeses balanced by the delicate, slightly grassy fava pesto and briny olives—and the combination lingered with me. I went home determined to recreate my own version.
Friday night is pizza night in our house, and we are fortunate to have a wood-fired oven here in Umbria as well as one in the U.S., so we make pizza often. For my adaptation I made a chunky fava-bean pesto and also left some whole, barely cooked peeled fava beans to give the pizza a mix of textures.
For olives I prefer taggiasca olives—the small, flavorful olives from Liguria that I buy packed in oil—but Kalamata olives work well as a substitute. For cheese I used a blend of mozzarella and Taleggio. Taleggio is soft and creamy with a gentle tang and an aromatic rind; if you can’t find it, Robiola or Brie make acceptable alternatives.
This pizza is lovely as a vegetarian option, but you can add three to four ounces of diced pancetta or guanciale, lightly sautéed, if you want a meaty accent. I also like the pizza with a scattering of fresh, peppery arugula added after baking; it brightens the finished pie but is optional.
When I make pizza dough at home I prefer to prepare it at least 24 hours in advance and refrigerate it—48 hours if I have the time—because a slow, cold ferment improves the flavor and gives the crust a better texture. You can, of course, use store-bought dough if you prefer.
Fresh fava beans from my garden
The pesto melts into the cheese
Pizza topped with fresh arugula
Pizza with Fava Bean Pesto, Fresh Fava Beans, Black Olives & Taleggio
Makes 2 personal pizzas
30 minutes
20 minutes
50 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound pizza dough (see notes above)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 ounces guanciale or pancetta, diced (optional)
- Fava bean pesto (recipe below)
- 1 cup blanched, peeled fresh fava beans
- Cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 cups full-fat shredded mozzarella
- 1 1/2 cups diced Taleggio (or substitute)
- 1/2 cup pitted, halved Taggiasca or Kalamata olives
To Assemble:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Coarse sea salt
Optional:
- 2 cups fresh baby arugula
Fava Bean Pesto:
- 1 1/2 cups fresh fava beans, blanched and peeled
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano
- Extra virgin olive oil, about 1/3 cup
Instructions
- Divide the dough into two 8-ounce portions and form each into a ball. Place them on a lightly oiled plate, cover and refrigerate until needed. Remove the dough 2½ hours before baking to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to the highest temperature possible (typically 500°F / 260°C). If using a pizza stone, preheat the stone as well.
- To prepare the pesto, place the blanched fava beans, garlic, lemon juice, Pecorino, salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. With the processor running, drizzle in olive oil until the mixture loosens but remains slightly chunky. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- On a lightly floured surface, press each dough ball into a 12-inch circle using your hands. Lightly flour a baking sheet or pizza peel and transfer the dough to it.
- Brush the dough lightly with olive oil. Scatter the shredded mozzarella evenly, then crumble or distribute the diced Taleggio, leaving about a 1-inch border around the edge.
- Use a spoon to drop small blobs of the fava-bean pesto across each pizza. Distribute the olives and the reserved blanched, peeled fava beans over the top. Finish with a few grinds of black pepper and a light sprinkle of coarse sea salt; add red pepper flakes if you like a touch of heat.
- Bake each pizza until the crust is golden and the cheeses are bubbly, about 15–20 minutes, depending on your oven.
- If using arugula, scatter it over the pizzas immediately after they come out of the oven so the greens wilt slightly from the residual heat. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the finished pies and serve right away.
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele