broad and green bean pasta with lemon and pink peppercorns

i had a wonderful treat earlier this week, i received my first broad beans of the season, squeaky fresh and completely delicious, courtesy of food4london.

my immediate temptation was to have them in a salad with the peas and courgettes which accompanied them but i had a real pasta craving so decided to try draw inspiration from an ottolenghi recipe which pairs them with lemon and pink peppercorns.

i added thinly sliced courgette discs and green beans to the mix and the result was a lovely pasta dish full of the flavours of summer. i am sharing this with graziana of erbe in cucina who is this week's host of presto pasta nights.

double bean and courgette pasta with lemon and pink peppercorns (serves 2)

a large handful of podded broad beans

75-100g trimmed green beans

pasta for two, i used orrechiette

25g butter

3 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1 courgette, thinly sliced into discs

200ml dry white wine

a pinch of sugar

1 teapsoon pink peppercorns, coarsely crushed

1 tablespoon olive oil

zest of a lemon*

parmesan for serving

in a large saucepan, cook your broad beans until they are just ready. remove with a slotted spoon and when the water is boiling again add the green beans. rinse the pan, add fresh boiling water and use it to cook your pasta.

inasecond pan, melt the butter, add the shallots and sauté over medium heat for about six minutes, until they are soft and golden. while you are doing this remove the broad beans from their skins and set aside.

when the onions are soft, add the courgettes and cook for a few minutes. add the wine, sugar and a pinch of salt. bring to a simmer until the wine is reduced to about a tablespoon, add the beans and then set aside.

once the pasta is ready mix it with the beans and courgette mix, adding the peppercorns, olive oil and lemon zest. season to taste and serve with parmesan shavings.

* the ottoelnghi recipe called for lemon juice which i omitted as i find it often discolours the beans, making them slightly yellow rather than bright green.