easy food; mid-week meal |

This is pretty easy and for the effort you put in the results are amazing. I tried this out because I had a load of courgettes and wanted something really comforting but punchy. I have called it ‘pesto’ as it has the ingredients of a pesto but in a slightly different order.

–

You can do steps one and two a few days before if you want, making this a really quick evening dinner. Also you can use half of the anchovies here if you don’t want it to taste fishy at all, but do put at least half a tin in the dish, it’ll pretty much dissolve and season the dish.

–

Serves 2 | time 55 minutes

Prep 5 minutes | Cook 50 minutes

–

Ingredients

3 courgettes, sliced really thin
3 cloves of garlic , sliced really thin
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tin of anchovies
Good handful of pine nuts
Good handful of basil, chopped finely
1 tbsp creme freiche or Greek yoghurt (optional)
2 handfuls spinach / kale / cavelo nero
Pasta (use whatever you like I used wholewheat fusilli)

To serve

1 tbsp basil, chopped
2 tsp capers
Parmesan (as much as you want)
Squeeze of lemon

Method

Part one

On a mid to low heat, cook the courgettes with the garlic and oil for 45 minutes

Part two

Put the basil, pine nuts and anchovy in a pestle and mortar and smash it up or put it in a food processor and mix
When this is done add it to the courgette and garlic and mix well
It should be a thick mush

Part three

Blanch your spinach, kale or cavelo nero and roughly chop
Cook your pasta as per the packet instructions but do not get rid of all the water
Put two tbsp of the starchy cooking water in a frying pan with the mush
heat the pasta, mush together and spinach, kale or cavelo nero until heated through
Stir through the creme freiche if using (this adds a rich decadence to the dish but isn’t necessary if you want something cleaner

Part four

Serve in a bowl and garnish with basil, capers, Parmesan and twist of pepper and a squeeze of lemon