Spring Tagliatelle

This is a show stopping plant driven pasta dish you can throw down in 30 minutes. Perfect for long weekend lunches with family and friends or just as easily as weeknight meal. Feel free to use peas instead of broad beans and if you can’t find zucchini flowers replace with sliced zucchini and some baby spinach.

 INGREDIENTS:

• 250 dried tagliatelli pasta

• 1 punnet zucchini flowers

• 1 bunch asparagus, base removed, cut into 2 cm lengths

• 8 broadbeans, podded

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 2 clove garlic sliced

• Zest 1 lemon

• ¼ cup pesto

• 1 cup basil leaves, picked

• 1 small block parmesan cheese

• 1-2 tbsp dried chili flakes

• Juice 1 lemon

METHOD:

1. Bring 2 pots of water to the boil and add a generous pinch of salt to both.

2. Pull the zucchini flower form the stem and tear roughly. Cut the zucchini stems in half lengthways and set both aside separately.

3. To one pot of water add the asparagus and broad beans. Cook for 1 minute then drain and refresh in ice water for 1 minute then drain and remove the outer skin of the broad bean. Place in the bowl with the zucchini flowers.

4. Add the pasta to the second pot of water and cook for 7 minutes stirring frequently.

5. Meanwhile place a large frying pan over a medium to high heat and add the olive oil, garlic and lemon zest. Once that begins to sizzle, add the zucchini bases and a pinch of salt and cook for 2 minutes stirring. Add the asparagus broad beans and zucchini flowers. Toss through the pan.

6. Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of cooking water and add it to the frying pan with the pesto, and enough reserved cooking water to loosen. Toss the pasta well and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve on a large platter with parmesan grated over and the basil, chili flakes and a good squeeze of lemon.

Recipe by Tom Walton. Check out his site here & Insta here.