When I go home at the weekend, I come back laden with delicious fruit and veg from my dad’s garden. It’s always a nice challenge to figure out what I am going to cook with them. I find with fresh vegetables, you have to use them up quickly or they go bad -unlike vegetables from the supermarket which are sprayed with ‘God-knows-what-icide’ to preserve them for longer. I came up with this dish on a whim when I was hungry for supper and wanted something quick. Unlike some pasta dishes, this is light, fresh and healthy. The chargrilled courgettes give the dish a lovely smokiness, and the fresh broad beans add a touch of nuttiness, which is all tied together with some creamy feta. The pea shoots taste just like green peas, but with a really different texture. This dish is a lunch time winner. It’s fresh and low fat and makes great use of summer vegetables.
Ingredients
- 75g of shelled broad beans
- 100g of courgettes
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 75g of spaghetti
- Salt and pepper
- 100g of feta, crumbled
- A few sprigs of fresh pea shoots
Method
Chop the courgette in half lengthways. Slice each half into half moon discs about half a centimeter in thickness. Place the courgette discs in a bowl with the olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Make sure that each disc gets nicely coated in the olive oil. Heat a griddle pan over a medium heat. My griddle pan is quite small, so I had to cook these in batches. Reserve the olive oil mix left over, for use later on. Place the courgettes directly on the griddle pan. They should sizzle when they come into contact with pan. Once the courgette discs are nicely marked on one side, turn them and griddle the other side. As soon as the courgettes are cooked on both sides, remove and place on a sheet of kitchen paper, to remove the excess oil.
Place the shelled broad beans in a saucepan of boiling salted water. Boil for 6-8 minutes, until just tender. Strain and rinse in cold water. Carefully remove the silvery skin on the broad bean, so that you are left with tender green broad beans. Place the broad beans in the bowl of olive oil reserved from above.
Cook the pasta, as per the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain and add the broad beans in olive oil and the courgettes. Heat through, just so the vegetables are warmed. Taste and season and add a splash more olive oil if necessary. Serve with the crumbled feta and a few pea shoots.
