SPAGHETTI, RUNNER BEAN AND SMASHED BASIL

Feeling a little sad to be picking the last of my basil, beans and potatoes.  It has been such a fantastic season in the garden and I have managed to grow in abundance ingredients which would normally struggle.  This dish is a classic but as i do, i used goodies from my garden to make it more accessible and of course seasonal.

Preparation time - 25 minutes

Cooking time - 30 minutes

Skill - moderate

Serves 4

Ingredients

400g spaghetti

Salt

100g fresh basil

2 cloves garlic

50g parmesan cheese, finely grated

75ml extra virgin olive oil, extra for serving 

1 lemon 

250g runner beans

250g small potatoes, peeled

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil

If you have a mortar and pestle I recommend using this for a better result, however a blender works great as well.

Place the basil, pinch of salt and garlic into the mortar or blender and blend until a coarse paste.

Add ½ the grated parmesan cheese and drizzle in the oil, stirring to combine. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and check for seasoning. Set aside.

Prepare the beans by top and tailing and removing the stringy bits from either side.  Slice the beans diagonally to about 1 cm thick slices. 

Slice the potatoes into 3mm thin rounds.

Once the water is boiling add the spaghetti and cook as per directions.  Usually 12 minutes for al dente.  In the last 5 minutes of cooking add the beans and potatoes and cook with the spaghetti.

Place the ⅔ of the smashed basil into a large heatproof bowl.  Check the spaghetti and vegetables.  When you feel the pasta and vegetables are almost tender, place the bowl over the pot and this will warm through the basil mix and loosen up the oil.

Drain the pasta, reserving about 250 ml of the pasta water.  This is essential!

Add the spaghetti and beans etc to the bowl and toss through the smashed basil, add tablespoon of the reserved pasta water at a time until the sauce loosens a little and coats the pasta. Squeeze over a little lemon juice, sprinkle over more parmesan and if you want to add more of the reserved basil sauce, check for seasoning.

Serve immediately and enjoy!