-
1
Shell the fava beans from their pods. Bring a small pan of unsalted water to a rolling boil, add the shelled beans and blanch for 60 seconds. Drain and refresh immediately under cold running water. Pinch the pale inner skin from each bean and discard it. The revealed beans should be vivid green and smooth — any grey or dull skin remaining means the step is incomplete.
-
2
Place the guanciale lardons in a cold heavy pot and set over medium heat. Render slowly until the fat runs clear and the lardons are lightly golden but not crisp. The rendered fat forms the soffritto base for the soup; there should be a visible pool of translucent pork fat coating the base of the pot. The sound will drop from a vigorous sizzle to a quiet, even murmur.
-
3
Pour the light pork bone broth into the pot with the rendered guanciale and its fat. Raise the heat and bring to a gentle simmer. The broth should be clear, pale gold, and carry a faint pork sweetness on the nose — not heavy or reduced.
-
4
Add the double-peeled fava beans to the simmering broth. Cook uncovered for 8–10 minutes only. This is where the dish lives or dies: fresh favas need no more — they must remain vivid green, yielding at the centre but with integrity; a bean pressed between two fingers should give cleanly without dissolving. At the first sign of grey-brown colour or a mealy texture the favas are already past their moment and cannot be recovered.
-
5
Remove the pot from the heat. Ladle the soup into warmed individual bowls. Over each bowl, scatter the grated Pecorino Abruzzese, tear 1–2 leaves of fresh wild mint directly over the surface, and finish with a generous drizzle of raw extra-virgin olive oil. Neither the cheese nor the oil should enter the hot pot — both are raw finishes destroyed by prolonged heat. Taste for salt before serving; the guanciale and Pecorino together generally provide sufficient seasoning.