Eat Your Greens - Spaghetti with Fresh Herbs and Broad Bean Pesto

The herbs have gone mad, the broad beans have gone mad, lettuce and Asian greens everywhere in the garden. This is a great way to use broad beans if you have reluctant eaters in your house, although, not strictly pesto, it uses lots of fresh herbs and is absolutely delicious. The sauce is a fresh and vibrant and should coat the spaghetti with little flecks of green, the walnuts provide a contrasting crunch. The amount and type of fresh herbs that are used could be changed according to your tastes and what you have available. Serve with a salad of fresh leafy greens.

The broad bean puree can be made in advance, which makes it an even easier and quicker dish to make. I also freeze containers of the broad bean puree as it thaws out and reheats very well.

Spaghetti with Fresh Herb and Broad Bean Pesto

Ingredients

Spaghetti approx 250 g or enough for four

1 cup cooked and double podded broad beans, pureed and reheated in the microwave

1/2 cup walnut oil/olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano/ thyme/lemon thyme

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

generous pinch of chilli flakes

extra parmesan to serve

Method

Put a large pot of water on to boil, cook spaghetti until al dente.

Put a little oil in a pan, add garlic and allow the garlic to soften slightly but not colour. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Check flavour, it may need a little salt

Add cooked pasta, and toss to coat the spaghetti, add a little of the cooking water if the sauce is too dry.

Serve with additional parmesan cheese.