Vegetarian mains
Wild garlic pesto pasta with slow cooked courgettes
Watch as the courgettes collapse into a thick and unctuous sauce. Low and slow is the key. This recipe will test your slicing skills. If you possess a mandolin or processor with a slicing attachment this would be the time to use it. Either way make sure your blade is sharp and you keep your fingertips tucked away from peril. If you pick wild garlic yourself in future, the pesto recipe can be scaled up and will keep well jarred in the fridge for at least a week if covered with a layer of oil.
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- oil for cooking e.g. light olive
- 3 large or 4 small courgettes
- 250g tagliatelle
- 1 lemon
- 50g wild garlic
- 25g pine nuts
- 50g Italian style cheese
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Peel and finely slice the onion. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the saucepan. Put the onion on to cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. While the onion begins to cook, wash the courgettes, remove the tops and slice into very, very thin discs (see cook's note).
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Step 2
Heap the courgette into the pan with the onions. Add a pinch of salt. Cook on a low heat for about 30 minutes. Stir now and then, making sure they aren't catching on the bottom. Add a dash of water if it starts to catch. It should all collapse into a sauce-like state.
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Step 3
Meanwhile, wash the wild garlic well and shake it dry. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Chop the wild garlic roughly and add to the food processor with the pine nuts and 25g of Italian cheese.
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Step 4
Pulse it well, adding enough olive oil to achieve a pesto-like consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Alternatively make the pesto by grinding everything together in a pestle and mortar, adding the olive oil slowly to combine.
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Step 5
You can finely chop the wild garlic and pine nuts and mix with oil in a bowl if needs be. When the courgettes have about 10 minutes left, put your pasta on to cook. About 12 minutes until tender.
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Step 6
Season the courgettes with salt, pepper and a dash or two of lemon juice to your taste. Add a small dash of the pasta water to loosen it into a sauce. Drain the pasta when cooked. Mix with the courgettes. Divide between two bowls and top with the pesto and another 25g of the Italian cheese.