Pasta salad with courgette, Parmesan, chilli, & mint

Ingredients

Pasta (dried) of your choice- enough for two (about 175g)

a few handfuls of frozen peas (I also added a handful of frozen soya beans)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

the best olive oil you can afford

50g Parmesan, grated

1 courgette, sliced into ribbons using a potato peeler

a handful of toasted pine nuts

zest of ¼ lemon

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

bunch fresh mint

bunch fresh basil (I didn’t have this so just left it out)

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. About 3 minutes before it’s ready, add the peas and soya beans.
2. Drain, and put in a large bowl with salt, pepper, oil, and Parmesan. Set aside.
3. Fry the courgette slices in olive oil for a few minutes, turning frequently, and add to the pasta mixture.
4. Add the pine nuts, lemon zest, and chilli, and stir well.
5. At this point the dish can be refrigerated until you’re ready to serve. Just before serving, rip up the herbs and stir in. You can add more salt/pepper/oil/Parmesan according to taste too. Enjoy!

This recipe tastes even better made with vegetables from Community Harvest Whetstone :)