Collapsing courgette, pine nut & lemon linguine

Does this mean I'm a gardener now?

I’m the perfect example of someone who waters the plants once and suddenly decides they’re a gardener.

I’ll be honest - I didn’t set any of this up. I arrived back at my flat one day and it had just…appeared.

Fresh mint! basil! chives! spring onions! courgettes! an olive tree!! It was something I’d thought about for years, but never expected to actually happen living in London. And yet somehow…it has!

It wasn’t until I saw our first courgette flower bloom that I thought; we’ve made it.

My flatmate’s aunt, who is very much the “knows what she’s doing” type in a garden, worked some serious magic. She’s constantly texting us tips on how to keep everything alive and thriving (apparently egg shells are great for keeping the slugs away?).

And so now it’s our job and duty to do so.

So most evenings, flatmate Anna and I tootle lopsidedly up and down the stairs with four watering cans between us, nattering as we go, getting squeakishly excited about a new basil leaf or a single heroic chive that wasn’t there yesterday. It’s oddly calming, very wholesome, and I kinda love it.

In particular, the courgettes!

They’re just coming into season - one of my favourite foods. And while nothing from our own patch has made it to the kitchen yet, I’m optimistic that time will come. For now, bags of them from the supermarket have been making their way home instead - ready to be diced and roasted, shaved raw into salads, or cooked down until luxuriously soft, jammy and almost collapsing.

Starting with this collapsing courgette, pine nut and lemon linguine.

Cooking courgettes like this is one of my favourite ways to enjoy them. Sliced into rounds and left to take their time in a pan of olive oil, they soften and slump, soaking up the salty, garlicky oil until they’re a little fudgy. They’re then perfect tangled through pasta in a creamy-without-the-cream sauce - a silky emulsion of parmesan, olive oil, starchy pasta water, and a little butter for good measure.

If you’re lucky enough to be growing your own courgettes, this is a great recipe to use them in over the summer. And hopefully the next courgette recipe I share will be made from our own little patch at home. After all, I’m a gardener now.

---

Collapsing courgette, pine nut & lemon linguine

Cooking courgettes like this - sliced thinly and left to take their time in a pan of olive oil and garlic - is one of the best ways to use them. They soften and slump, soaking up garlic and salt until they’re soft and jammy, but still holding their shape and helping to form the sauce. I like to stir through the toasted pine nuts so they pick up all that sweet, garlicky oil, then toss everything through pasta, where parmesan, butter and starchy pasta water turn it into a creamy, silky sauce without any cream. It’s lifted with lemon and basil, zesty and fragrant, for that simple satisfaction only a really good bowl of pasta can give.

Feeds 2 | Takes 30 mins

Ingredients

Olive oil - plenty of it

A handful of pine nuts, about 30g

1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 courgettes (around 450g), sliced into 3-4mm rounds

170g linguine, or other long pasta shape like spaghetti, tagliatelle or bucatini

60g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve

1 tbsp butter

Zest of 1 lemon, plus wedges to serve

A handful of fresh basil leaves

Method

1. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden and smelling nutty, shaking the pan often so that they don’t burn. Remove from the pan and set aside.

   TIP: they also toast well in an air fryer at 200C for 3-5 minutes.

2. Return the pan to medium-low heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil followed by the sliced garlic and fennel seeds, if using. Cook gently for about a minute until fragrant and just beginning to colour.

3. Add the courgettes along with a good glug of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Toss well so that every slice is coated in the oil, then cook over a medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the courgettes to soften into a jammy, tender texture - soft enough to melt into the sauce, but still holding their shape. Stir through the toasted pine nuts so they get coated in all that garlicky oil and soften slightly in the pan.

4. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta for about 8-10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving at least 300ml of the cooking water.

5. Add the pasta to the courgettes along with the butter and a generous splash of the pasta water. Toss until the butter has melted, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the parmesan a handful at a time, tossing vigorously and adding more pasta water little by little until you have a glossy, emulsified sauce coating every strand of pasta. If needed, add a final drizzle of olive oil to loosen and enrich the sauce.

6. Grate in the lemon zest and fold it through with the basil leaves, toasted pine nuts and several twists of black pepper. Check for seasoning.

7. Divide between bowls and finish with more parmesan, a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and an extra crack of black pepper.