Courgette and Broad Bean Pasta in a Cheesy Sauce

broad-bean-courgette-pastaHere’s a wonderfully easy-to-make recipe from Delicious Magazine that uses the best of the season’s vegetables – broad beans and courgettes.

If you don’t have large pasta shells in the cupboard, you can simply toss the sauce through some spaghetti instead for a delectable week-night meal.

Good to Know:

This recipe serves two and takes 10 minutes to make about about 30 minutes to cook.

 

Ingredients:

  • 120g large pasta shells
  • 200g broad beans
  • 2 large courgettes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 300g pot of cheese sauce
  • 100ml crème fraîche
  • 50g grated Parmesan
  • 70g pack cubetti di pancetta (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Cook the pasta shells in a pan of boiling salted water for 12 minutes until almost cooked, then drain and refresh in cold water.

2. Meanwhile, cook the broad beans in a pan of boiling water for a few minutes, then drain and refresh in cold water. Once cool, slip the beans out of their outer skins.

3. Coarsely grate courgettes, sprinkle with salt and leave for 10 minutes, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and, if you’re using it, fry the pancetta for 2-3 minutes, then add the courgette with the lemon zest and fry for 5 minutes. Add the broad beans and cook for another minute. Stuff the courgette and pancetta mixture into the shells and put in an ovenproof dish.

4. Mix the cheese sauce with crème fraîche and a splash of water, pour over the pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes until piping hot.