Celebrate the bountry of fresh spring arrivals with this simple pasta. This recipe from BBC Good Food uses broad beans, peas and asparagus but you could subsitute spinach, flat beans, purple sprouting broccoli… basically any of the lovely fresh spring produce in the shop or your veg box at the moment. Can easily be made gluten free or vegan.
Instructions
- STEP 1
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and put a steamer over the water. Steam the beans, asparagus and peas until just tender, then set aside. Boil the pasta following pack instructions.
- STEP 2
Meanwhile, fry the leeks gently in the oil and butter for 5 mins or until soft. Add the fromage frais to the leeks and very gently warm through, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn’t split. Add the herbs and steamed vegetables with a splash of pasta water to loosen.
- STEP 3
Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce. Adjust the seasoning, then serve scattered with the cheese and drizzled with a little extra olive oil.
Ingredients
- 75g young broad beans (use frozen if you can’t get fresh)
- 200g asparagus, trimmed and chopped into short spears
- 150g peas (use frozen if you can’t get fresh)
- 350g spaghetti or linguine
- 175g small leeks , trimmed and sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil , plus extra to serve
- 1 tbsp butter
- 200ml creme fraiche or vegan cream cheese
- handful fresh chopped herbs e.g. mint, parsley and chives
- Vegetarian parmesan