ONE PAN CURED LEMON PASTE AND COURGETTE SPAGHETTI
Cook: 30 minutes
Q & A WITH Anna Shepherd
How did you learn to cook?
I read as many recipe books as I could get my hands on when I was younger, and I really learnt to cook when I started volunteering in kitchens - basically doing washing up and low-skilled prep jobs. It’s amazing how much you absorb being in an environment like that, where chefs who’ve been cooking for years do everything almost instinctively.
What is your favourite type of food?
I love vegetables, so anything that really celebrates their versatility and highlights how delicious they can be when treated like the most important ingredient in a recipe. If I see purple sprouting broccoli, romanesco cauliflower or parsnips on a menu, I’d order them instead of fish or meat.
What's your favourite dish to cook?
Probably a Friday night bowl of pasta with chilli, garlic, broccoli and lemon. It’s a few simple ingredients, but everything comes together in 20 minutes.
What would be your last meal on earth?
Freshly made ravioli with crispy sage and brown butter
What is the first Belazu product you ever tried?
Olives! I worked in a deli on Saturdays when I was at school and I used to love picking at the Belazu olives throughout the day.
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4 Courgettes
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2 tbsp light Olive Oil
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2 Garlic cloves
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2 heaped tbsp Belazu Cured Lemon Paste
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Leaves from 1 bunch mint
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400g Belazu Dried Spaghetti Pasta
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100ml Belazu Verdemanda Extra Virgin Olive Oil
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Salt and Pepper
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Optional: Parmesan, to serve
- Step 0: Trim the stalk ends of the courgettes and discard. Finely slice the courgettes into a large mixing bowl using the flat blade on a mandoline or using your excellent knife skills. You’re aiming for slices with about 2mm thickness.
- Step 1: Heat the light olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan for which you have a lid over medium heat. Grate in the garlic cloves, then stir in the Belazu Cured Lemon Paste and use a wooden spoon to stir for a minute until everything is intensely fragrant. Tip in the courgettes, then scatter over a teaspoon of salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid released from the courgettes has evaporated and they’re all glossy and soft, about 15 minutes.
- Step 2: Meanwhile, stack up all but a handful of the mint leaves in groups of 5 or 6 (saving the handful for later when you’re ready to serve), roll up each stack in a tight roll, then slice thinly into ribbons. Repeat with the remaining mint leaves. Add the mint, spaghetti and 75ml of the Belazu Verdemanda Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the pan with the courgettes. Fill and boil the kettle, then pour in 1.2 litres of boiling water, and add another teaspoon of salt. Bring the pan to the boil and cover with a lid. Cook for 8 minutes, removing the lid every 90 seconds to turn everything in the pan with tongs.
- Step 3: Once most of the liquid has been absorbed and the spaghetti is cooked, lift the spaghetti into warm bowls using tongs and top with the reserved mint leaves and the parmesan, if you like. Drizzle over the remaining Verdemanda Extra Virgin Olive Oil just before serving.
