A few weeks ago Adam declared he was craving pasta for dinner. I love pasta, so it didn’t take much convincing to get me on board too! It was as the weather was starting to warm and neither one of us fancied a rich tomato or cream based dish. Searching for some inspiration before heading into town to do some food shopping, I started poking around online, looking for something that would meet our pasta craving, without the decadence of a ragù.
I stumbled across a recipe from BBC Food and it was a hit the first night I made it. I’ve since whipped up the same dish a few more times and I’ve got a feeling it’s going to become a firm favourite in our house…
I’ve slightly altered the original recipe, substituting a few ingredients that I either had on hand, or were just more practical, and omitting a blanching and defrosting step. The second time I made the dish I forgot to toast the hazelnuts, and honestly it didn’t really matter – still came out delicious!
What you’ll need
- A generous splash of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 200g asparagus cut into bite-sized pieces
- 150g frozen peas
- 100g frozen soya beans (prodded edamame)
- 100g baby spinach leaves
- 450g cooked fettuccine (a few tablespoons of cooking water reserved)
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- large handful fresh spring herbs, including mint, basil, dill and parsley, chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan cheese
- 25g of toasted, crushed hazelnuts
How to do it
- Pop your pasta in a pot of boiling, well salted water.
-
Put the oil in a pan, add the garlic and fry until it develops a delicious smell.
-
Add the asparagus, peas, soya beans and and stir fry for a few minutes until the asparagus starts to cook and the peas and beans start to defrost.
-
Add the spinach and cook until until slightly wilted.
-
Add the pasta and a couple of splashes of cooking water to the pan, stirring to combine.
-
Squeeze over the lemon juice, grate in the zest and sprinkle in the herbs, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
-
To serve, sprinkle with hazelnuts, a generous amount of Parmesan and drizzle with olive oil.
The best part is, it only takes about 15 minutes to cook it, so perfect for those mid-week meals when you don’t want to spend hours standing over the stove. It’s vegetarian friendly, and if you swap the regular Parmesan for a non-dairy cheese, it’s vegan friendly too.
Bon appétit!
Have a wonderful week. x
Wattle and Ash 