Cream sauce is a classic, but I usually only make this recipe when I have lots of vegetables in the garden, over the summer. This year I grew red orache, and it turned the whole dish a lovely pink colour.
INGREDIENTS:
- 25g butter (use vegetable oil for a vegan version)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed
- 300ml cream (use soya cream for a vegan version)
- salt and pepper
- freshly grated nutmeg
- Approx 700g fresh vegetables – a mixture of orache, shelled broad beans, mange tout, asparagus tips, carrots, etcetera
- 400g pasta (best with fusilli)
- A good squeeze of lemon juice
- Herb garnish (chervil, or parsley, or chive flowers)
METHOD:
- Melt the butter in a small to medium saucepan, and add gently cook the onion for around 10 minutes until tender.
- Add the garlic, cook for a couple more minutes, and then add the cream. Leave to simmer gently so that the mixture thickens, around 10 minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and set aside until it is required.
- Prepare the vegetables; cut the asparagus into 2 cm lengths, peel and cut the carrots into similar sized pieces, cut the orache or spinach to large shreds.
- Steam the beans, asparagus and carrots for around 5 minutes, then add the other vegetables for another 3 minutes or so.
- Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet, around 10 minutes.
- Add the vegetables to the cream sauce and bring to a simmer, check the seasoning and add a good squeeze of lemon juice. Do not forget this step because it is a bit dull without it.
- Add the sauce to the drained pasta, and serve on warmed plates, garnished with herbs.