Mushroom, courgette and pinenut pasta

This was another Saturday lunchtime creation which involved pulling together some of my favourite things: the subtle sweetness of a firm young courgette, plump mushrooms, toasted nuts, pungent garlic, fresh lemon juice and a big pile of steaming spaghetti. I inhaled it.

What to use – serves 1

• 100g wholemeal spaghetti
• 4 medium-large chestnut mushrooms – sliced into bite-size pieces
• 1 courgette
• 1 medium-large clove garlic – crushed
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons pine nuts

How to use it

Put your pasta on to boil.

Heat a non-stick pan and toast your pine nuts for a few minutes until brown.

When browned, add olive oil, then your mushrooms, garlic and a sprinkle of sea salt. Stir well so the mushrooms are covered in the oil and let cook for a couple of minutes.

Wash and chop your courgette and put it into a nutribullet / blender along with a glug of olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon or lime. Blitz it.

Add the courgette to the mushroom pan, add some salt and pepper and a squeeze more lemon/lime, stir well and let the mix bubble until the pasta is ready. It won’t be very liquid-like, it’ll be quite solid, so do keep stirring to make sure it’s all warmed through. Taste it and adjust seasoning to how you like it.

Drain your pasta and put back into the pan, then add the sauce and swirl so the spaghetti is covered in sauce.

Eat.