Man Woman will not dwell on the presence or absence of the English summer. It does not, in fact, weigh on our minds at all. No, rather it will often be midday before Man or Woman might even remark, ‘Oh look, dear, it happens to be a miserable shit of a day once again. Ever so glad we migrated.’
For us, as non-natives, part of the goodness of eating seasonally is actually discovering what is in fact seasonal. Broad beans, we understand, are summery even if the skies under which they grow are bleak and seemingly devoid of any sunlight. Moving on, this recipe was the first time we used them and it is pretty good. All can be made while the pasta is boiling and happily exists without the cheese if you want to go dairy-free.
A note here, this recipe quantaties are totally subjective. This amount will get you a nice balance of pasta to veg, but tweak to your tastes.
Broad bean, spinach, mint & hazelnut spaghetti
- Wholewheat spaghetti
- 1/3 C fresh broad beans (or peas, edame – any fresh green pod-borne things etc)
- 1 C spinach, chopped
- 6 or so leaves of fresh mint, chopped
- 1 large shallot, finely sliced
- 2 TBSP hazelnuts (pistachio, pine nuts or even walnuts could also work well)
- 100g soft goats cheese or feta (optional)
- Butter/olive oil for frying shallots
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and chuck the spaghetti in. (Really do use wholewheat – it so much tastier).
In a small pan, heat a little butter or olive oil and throw in the shallots and nuts. After a minute or two, add the broadbeans and keep stirring as the spaghetti cooks.
Once cooked, drain the spaghetti, return the spaghetti to the large pot and throw in chopped spinach. Let it wilt a little in the still-hot pot and then mix in the beans, shallots and nuts.
Throw in mint and then serve. Top with goats cheese if you like, and either way drizzle with good olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Estimated cost: £2.20 without cheese, £4 with cheese
Musical accompaniment: Something classical. We really should start paying more attention to this.
Man Woman Eat Veg 
Wow, healthy, delicious and such a great alternative to pasta and sauce! I’m a big fan of whole wheat pasta these days and ingredients like edamame, spinach and mint must add great flavor! Not to mention, it’s good for you – can’t beat that. Thanks so much for sharing!
-twentyeight
http://threetwentyeight.com/category/food/
I love how light this pasta dish seems! I always catch myself throwing in a splash of white wine and heavy cream- I’ll take this as inspiration.
Looks divine. So many lovely ingredients!
The lightness of the dish sounds amazing! I think we, at Food or Foe, might have to try something similar with mint. Perhaps with seafood? What do you think?
Hmmmm… Perhaps some prawns or hot smoked trout could do the trick?