Courgette Fettucini

Ingredients 4 courgettes, pine nuts, double cream, 3 egg yolks, pecorino,

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes


I love pasta. There I've said it... I love the versatility of cooking with it and find it comforting to make but sometimes an alternative needs to be found. I have lots of friends who don't or can't eat it and I find this light alternative to be fantastic. So light in fact that I felt the need to make an incredibly ingulgent sauce to go with it...


1) Slice the tops and tails from the courgettes and then using a vegetable peeler, slice ribbons from each edge and then slice each ribbon in half vertically. Continue working round until about half the courgette has gone, then either discard the core or save it for soup or bread!


2) In a pan, toast off a handful of pine nuts and add double cream and grated pecorino to the pan. Stir through on a gentle heat until the cheese has melted, then whisk 3 egg yolks into it. Add the courgette ribbons to the sauce and stir through until they are coated.


Serve with lots of freshly grated black pepper.

Spaghetti Bolognaise

Ingredients Spaghetti, Quorn mince (or beef or lamb mince), passata tomatoes, 1 white onion, basil oil, butter,    basil, oregano, parsley, garlic, red wine, peccorino cheese

I must admit, I change my recipe for spaghetti bolognaise every year - sometimes adding a little spice, sometimes adding sun dried tomatoes or olives. I have continued to fine-tune it but I think that after 16 years of cooking it I have finally rested upon the perfect combination of flavours.


1) Put half a bulb (yes that's bulb, not clove!) of garlic into a roasting tin and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.


2) Finely dice one white onion and sautee in a tablespoon of basil oil and a teaspoon of butter until they have completely softened. Add a glass of red wine, some finely chopped basil, oregano and parsley and stir through.


3) If you are making this with meat - brown the mince and strain off all of the meat juices before adding it to the pan. If you are making this with Quorn - add the Quorn mince from frozen and stir through.


4) Put your spaghetti on to boil in hot, salted water.


5) Stir the passata tomatoes through the Quorn mince and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Leave on a low heat until the spaghetti is cooked, then strain the spaghetti and add to the pan.


6) Stir through on a low heat for a further 2-3 minutes and then remove the roast garlic from the oven. Once roasted, it can be squeezed from the skin like a puree - mince the garlic in a press and stir through the spaghetti.


7) Serve with shaved pecorino and a sprinkling of parsley.