This recipe was inspired by a Marcella Hazan recipe for squid with tomatoes and peas, Tuscan style, which Frank adapted to suit the ingredients we had to hand.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tin plum tomatoes
bag of shelled Camel CSA peas or 285g frozen peas
10 peeled prawns
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
1 bag fresh tagliatelle
Method
Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook slowly until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook slowly until the volume is reduced by half.
Add the peas and the prawns and cook until the prawns have turned pink. When the sauce is about 5 minutes from being ready, cook the tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling water. Drain the pasta and mix into the sauce with the chopped parsley.
This recipe is from Leon’s Fast Vegetarian which my son very kindly bought me for my birthday last year because he thought it might give me inspiration for the weekly recipe. I will be using some of the chard from our box this week to make it.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 – 30 minutes
Ingredients
150 ml white wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
300g peas (frozen are fine)
150 ml water
100g chard, washed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
440g orecchiette
2 Tbs flat leaf parsley, chopped
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Method
Put the wine, garlic and chilli into a large pan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the volume has reduced by half. Add the peas to the pan with the water and simmer for 2 minutes. Next add the chard and stir quickly to wilt, then remove from the heat. Remove half the pea/chard mix from the pan and blitz in a blender or food processor, then return it to the pan, stir and season well. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 10-12 minutes (or according to the instructions on the packet), then drain. Toss the pasta with the sauce, add the parsley and mix well. Season and serve drizzled with good olive oil.
Another easy 10-minute meal – vital in the present heatwave – this time from Allegra McEvedy (via Guardian Cook). Try it with with the peas, broad beans and basil in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week.
She says: This has long been my top fall-back supper: warming, nutritious, quick and indisputably yum-a-licious. Without meaning to sound like a smartypants… a decent [homemade] stock is both the vital background and making of this dish – cube or concentrate just won’t do on this occasion.”
Serves 2
Preparation / cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
500ml chicken stock
150g ready-made tortellini
A few slices of red chilli (optional)
2 handfuls of seasonal veg such as mange tout or sugar snaps, roughly sliced; courgette, diced; peas or broad beans; french beans cut into batons; or broccoli cut into tiny florettes
A large handful of summer herbs, such as basil, mint and parsley
Lemon juice, to taste
To finish
Parmesan, grated
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Method
Warm up the stock and, once steaming, drop in the tortellini and pop a lid on the pan. After 3-4 minutes, and when just cooked, add the veg of your choice. When the stock has come back to a simmer, turn the heat off and stir in most of the herbs, some seasoning and a little lemon juice to taste.
Ladle into warm, wide bowls and finish with a flourish of grated parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and the last of the herbs.
A really quick and easy one for families on half-term holiday. It works brilliantly with the mangetout peas or broad beans in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says: “This is a fantastic recipe for super-fresh homegrown baby peas or beans. Risoni pasta, also known as orzo, is a lovely, rice-shaped type that I find particularly satisfying, especially when the ingredients it’s served with are also small.”
Serves two
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
150g risoni (or other small pasta)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g baby peas and/or broad beans
1 tbsp rapeseed, sunflower or olive oil
3 rashers unsmoked streaky bacon (or pancetta), cut into small dice
1 clove garlic, peeled and cut into slivers
Method
Bring a pan of water to a boil for the pasta, add a good dose of salt and then the pasta. Cook as suggested on the pack, and throw in the peas and/or beans for the last two minutes of the cooking time. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for five minutes, stirring often, until crisp. Add the garlic for the last minute or so. Take the pan off the heat. Drain the pasta and peas, tip into the bacon pan and toss. Season to taste, and serve.
