Wonderful One-pot Summer Spaghetti
A fresh, vibrant vegan spaghetti recipe from Abel and Cole tossed with nourishing broad beans, cherry tomatoes and fragrant basil. Ready in just 30 minutes and made in a single pan, this easy dish is ideal for busy weeknights.
From the book
Abel & Cole: How to Eat Brilliantly Every Day
140 recipes from organic food delivery sensation, Abel & Cole
Seasonal and sustainable cooking made simple
Creative twists on classic dishes
Introduction
Beans, beans, the musical fruit… The more you eat, the more you support seasonal British farmers. Pay no heed to the length of this one. It's an easy and fantastic way to celebrate summer veg without loads of washing up.
Ingredients
| 1 | lemon |
| 25g | pine nuts |
| 500g | broad beans |
| 3 tbsp | olive oil |
| ½ tsp | salt |
| 1 | garlic clove, thinly sliced |
| 250g | cherry vine tomatoes, quartered |
| 200g | spaghetti (or courgetti) |
| 1 | spring onion, finely sliced |
| A large handful | basil, leaves only |
| 50g | watercress or pea shoots |
| Freshly ground black pepper |
Method
Finely grate the zest from the lemon and juice one half (keep the other half for later).
Heat a large, heavy-based pan for 2 mins. Tip in the pine nuts and toast for 2-3 mins till golden. Tip out into a bowl. Fill the pan with water and bring to a boil.
While the water is coming to the boil, pop the broad beans from their pods. When the water is bubbling, drop in the beans. Cook for 2 mins. Drain into a jug and reserve 500ml of the cooking water. Plunge the beans into ice-cold water to stop them from cooking further.
Pour the reserved cooking water back into the pan and bring back to the boil. Add the oil, salt, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and cherry tomatoes.
Snap the spaghetti in half and add it to the pan (see tip if you're going for courgetti instead). Clamp on a lid till the water comes back to the boil again. Remove the lid. Simmer on a high heat for 8 mins. Toss the pasta every now and then while it cooks.
Meanwhile, pop the broad beans out of their grey skins. The easiest way to do this is to pinch one end and squeeze so they pop out. This is optional: when broad beans are young like this the grey skins aren't too tough. But they will look greener without their skins.
After 8 mins, the spaghetti should be al dente (soft with a slight bite) and most of the water evaporated. Throw in the broad beans and the spring onion. Toss together for 1 min to warm through.
Add most of the basil and fold it through the spaghetti with a crack of pepper. Add more salt if needed. Tangle into warm bowls, spooning over any sauce and the veg. Top with the remaining basil, the watercress or pea shoots and toasted pine nuts. Cut the remaining half lemon into wedges, and serve on the side.
Spag Swaps: You can use any pasta, just cook it as long as it says on the packet. For courgetti, you can either have it raw or boil it for 1 min just to soften it. Season well, gloss with olive oil and carry on as above.
