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    Vegetarian

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    Vegetarian Option

  • Ve

    Vegan

  • Ve*

    Vegan Option

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    Gluten-Free

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    Gluten-Free Option

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    Dairy-Free

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Pesto, Courgette + Ricotta Butter Beans

Fresh, bright and silky, this is everything you love about a classic basil pesto pasta - but lighter, greener and even more satisfying thanks to the jammy courgettes and glossy Queen Butter Beans. The homemade pesto is worth every whizz - but a shop-bought pesto will do just fine too! Finished with cool dollops of ricotta and lemon zest, it’s the kind of 20-minute dinner you’ll mop up with crusty bread and wonder how something this simple tastes that good.

Feeds: 3
Takes: 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the pesto

A large bunch of fresh basil (roughly 30g)

50g pine nuts

1 garlic clove, crushed

25g parmesan cheese, grated (or veggie alternative)

4–5 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve

For the beans

1 jar of Queen Butter Beans – with their bean stock

3 tbsp olive oil

2 medium courgettes, sliced into 0.3cm thick rounds (larger courgettes sliced into half moons)

1 fat garlic clove, thinly sliced

250g ricotta cheese, or vegan alternative (refrigerated)

Zest of 2 lemons, plus juice to taste

Serving suggestions

Crusty bread

Shop The Recipe

Queen Butter Beans
Queen Butter Beans
570g / Bold Pack (6) £22.00

Directions

1

Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until just golden, shaking the pan often to stop the nuts from burning. Remove and set aside.

2

To the same pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the courgettes with a pinch of salt and cook for 8-10 minutes until they turn just golden on the outside, but a little jammy in the centre - stirring occasionally.

3

Meanwhile make the pesto. Reserve a small handful of the pine nuts for garnish. Add the remaining nuts, basil, garlic, grated parmesan, pinch of salt and black pepper and the olive oil to a blender or food processor and blitz until you reach an oozy, pesto-like consistency; you may need to add more oil to bind the mixture together. (Equally, if you prefer a shortcut, ready-made pesto works great too!).

4

Add the garlic to the courgettes and cook for one minute until fragrant.

5

Tip in the beans with their bean stock, stir to combine in with the courgettes and gently heat for about 2 minutes. Add the pesto to the beans and stir to combine. Continue to warm through until everything is glossy, saucy and well coated.

6

Spoon the beans into bowls and dollop over the ricotta. Scatter over the pine nuts, grate over the zest of 2 lemons and finish with a few cracks of black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Mop up with crusty bread.

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