Food Friday: Veg Patch Pasta

Available for over a year

Veg patch pasta: This recipe can use whatever you have growing in the veg patch and herb borders throughout the year, it’s really easy and ready in about 10 minutes. All the following quantities are really just a rough guide. (serves 4) 500g dried rigatoni pasta olive oil 1 small red onion, sliced 2 small yellow/green courgettes, chopped 6 purple french beans, chopped 1 small fresh bay leaf fresh thyme fresh oregano 2 fresh sage leaves, shredded 50ml cream/olorosso sherry 200ml single cream (or creme fraiche) 1 teaspoon dired garlic granules a handful of rainbow chard roughly chopped handful freshly grated grana padano or parmesan cheese salt and pepper courgette flowers To garnish: fennel fronds and seed pods/pollen chives and their flowers marigold flowers runner bean flowers 1: Put your pasta into a saucepan of boiling salted water. 2: Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a deep frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the onions, courgettes, bay and thyme. 3: After a couple of minutes add the beans and sage and cook for a further 2 minutes then add the sherry, cook until the alcohol has evaporated off (about 30 seconds) then add the cream and garlic granules and bring back up a hot temperature. 4: Add your chard and season well, stirring just until it wilts then add your finely grated cheese. 5: Take about half a mug of the pasta cooking water and add to your frying pan to loosen the sauce slightly then drain your pasta and add it to your sauce. Stir well, add the courgette flowers and any soft herbs such as basil/parsley/chives then divide between plates, garnish with your fennel and any edible flowers and finish with a final grating of cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil