And so the glut begins..

I have mentioned in a past post about my fondness for the earthy green and the illuminating yellow courgettes that beckon me from their place of pride in my vegetable patch, however the time has all too soon crept up on R and I,  as if  by magic a garden fairy came and cast her fairy fertiliser dust over my already billowing plants and we are now blessed with a mountainous supply of the seem to be ever lasting vegetable.

Ive been through all the usual suspect recipes - courgette fritters, courgette soup, courgette chutney, fried courgettes etc etc.

Over the next couple of weeks i hope to get down to some serious recipe testing, trying to amalgamate different flavours in the hope of finding the best possible partners for this polygamistic vegetable.

The first of many was this charming little number which was not only inspired by my courgettes but also by my other sudden sudden surge of growth in my veg patch, given that we had been barraged by sticky warm and wet weather over the previous weeks.

As long as you don't over- do the pasta and give yourself a wheat intolerance before you even knew you had one in this dish, it makes a light, refreshing meal that could easily be served at lunch or for a late night supper.

Whether your using fresh or frozen peas make sure they are cooked until they are just tender, so you can taste the sweetness in every single one once bursted by your teeth. Feel free to use what ever herbs you may have to hand but don't be tempted to use dried this dish would taste better without than for you to go rummaging around in the deep dark depths of your herb cupboard only to return with a glass shaker half full of insipid dried basil for 1998.

Again feel free to use what ever fresh veg you have to hand although personally i would stick to green vegetables as without the 'straight from the meadow freshness' taste that green vegetables give, this dish would would be some what lack luster not only in taste but in visual experience as well.

 

Garden Vegetable Pasta

3 courgettes yellow or green, sliced into thin discs

One clove of peeled garlic

Large handful of washed spinach

Generous handful of fresh or frozen peas

Small bunch of flat leaf parsley

Small bunch of basil

2 spring onions. chopped

2 tbls of half fat creme fraiche

Dried Pasta - I used linguine as it seems to grip the sauce particularly well

Salt and Pepper

Heat a small amount of rapeseed or olive oil in a pan then once warm add the courgettes and the clove of garlic. Keep on a medium to low heat as you don't want the garlic to burn or the courgettes to catch the bottom of the pan. Put a large pan of water on to boil and cook the  pasta accordingly.

When the courgettes are slightly softened season with salt and black pepper and add the washed spinach ( don't worry if the leaves are still quite damp this will only help to wilt the spinach ), keeping on a low heat put the lid on and allow the spinach to wilt down , you may have to give it a stir every thirty seconds or so just to help it along.

Once nearly wilted add the peas and give a good stir. Now is a good time to try and spot the whole garlic clove and fish it out and discard it.

Once the pasta is cooked drain but try to keep about two tablespoons of the cooking water and add to your vegetable mixture.

As the pasta is cooling finely chop the leaves from the parsley and the basil, add to the vegetables along with the chopped spring onion then stir through the creme fraiche.

Check the seasoning then place a small amount of pasta onto a plate with a comforting spoonful of healthy vegetables on top, add shaved Parmesan as desired.