Seasonal recipe No 62: Spaghetti with beans and tomatoes

In her Garden Cookbook, Sarah Raven credits this recipe to the River Cafe. She says it’s an ’incredibly fresh-tasting and yet comforting pasta dish’. Good now when there are beans and tomatoes aplenty.

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1kg tomatoes, ideally plum or small beefsteak
300g french beans, topped and tailed
salt
150ml double cream
1 garlic clove, whole and peeled
handful of basil leaves
400g spaghetti
50g grated parmesan cheese to serve

Method
Skin the tomatoes, deseed with a teaspoon and chop them coarsely. Cook the beans in plenty of salted boiling water for 3 minutes until they are just tender. Cool them quickly in a bowl of cold water and drain.

Bring the cream to the boil and add the garlic. Take the pan off the heat and leave the cream to steep for 5 minutes before removing the garlic. Then add the beans, tomatoes and torn-up basil, and toss just for a minute to warm the veg through.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, drain and mix with the tomatoes and beans. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

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Tender leek and pancetta risotto

The tender baby leeks in this week’s standard veg boxes deserved special treatment.

What better than a risotto of leeks and pancetta from Nigel Slater’s latest book Tender?

The leeks and the mixed French beans that accompanied them were cultivated by one of Camel CSA’s expert growers, Jeremy Brown of St Kew Harvest.

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Jobs for Sunday 14 June

There’s a great deal to do at Camel Community Supported Agriculture this Sunday as the growing season continues apace.

As expert grower Jeremy Brown explains: -

There are runner beans to plant out and French beans to sow.  We also need to sow some more rows of carrots.

Everything needs weeding – the carrots (yet again!), the parsley and celeriac…  But the onions are okay. 

The early potatoes also need weeding and ridging up.  The peas need supporting and tying up.

Just turn up to join the team on our site at St Kew Highway between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. 

If you can’t manage Sunday, why not come to our new mid-week volunteer session every Thursday morning at the same time?  Or ring Jeremy Brown on 07971762227 if you’d like to help out another day.

Mid-summer celebration for members

Don’t forget it’s our mid-summer barbeque next Saturday 20 June in St Mabyn from 6 p.m. onwards.  Please contact Charlotte Barry if you can come at charlotte.barry@btinternet.com so we have an idea of how many people to expect. 

Everyone is asked to bring some food for the barbeque, a drink and a seasonal side dish or pudding.  Don’t forget to bring your own plate and cutlery as well!

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