food to glow

This is a flexible and forgiving recipe, so make adjustments as you see fit. The only thing I feel compelled to add is that due to its inherent simplicity, you really need to use the best produce and pasta that you can get for this recipe: ripe, flavoursome tomatoes (stored on the kitchen counter, NOT in the fridge), ramrod-straight soldiers of asparagus rather than limp stuff, and quality pasta. Oh, and vegans: use vegan soft cheese, cashew ricotta or similar. xx

Enough pasta* for 2 – about 150g

2 tsp salt, for the pasta water

100g fresh ricotta (use vegan soft cheese or cashew ricotta if liked)

1/2 preserved lemon, finely minced (if very salty, just use the skin and discard the inside)

1/2 bundle of fresh asparagus, woody ends snapped off and discarded

180-200g best tomatoes

Lemon, to serve

Wild garlic flowers, to serve – optional

Black pepper

Wild Garlic Oil

4-6 large leaves of wild garlic

Three-finger pinch of flaky salt

50ml best olive oil

* any pasta shape and type (e.g. gluten-free, durum wheat, buckwheat etc) will be fine

** if you don’t have preserved lemon (here is my preserved lemon recipe – but it takes two weeks to be ready!) Belazu brand is a good bet here in the UK

Special equipment: pestle and mortar

Method:

1. Boil a large pan of water, add the salt and the pasta. Cook according to packet directions. Add the asparagus when the pasta is four minutes from done.

2. Meanwhile, tear the wild garlic into pieces and add it to the mortar along with the salt. Crush with the pestle until the wild garlic breaks down; gradually add in the oil and pound until it comes together/emulsifies. Add a little of the lemon juice if you like. Set aside.

3. Cut the tomatoes into wedges or in half, depending on size. Set aside.

4. Put the ricotta into a small bowl and mix in the minced preserved lemon. Mix well. Taste and add a little lemon juice, as needed.

5. When the pasta and asparagus are finished, drain well and carefully pull out the asparagus and pop them into a bowl of iced water for 15 seconds: this preserves the bright green colour and stops the cooking process.

6. Now it is just an assembly job. You can either toss the ricotta into the pasta, serve into two bowl and top with the rest of the ingredients or, as I have done, make little quenelles (fancy blobs!) to dot over the pasta. Sprinkle over any wild garlic flowers – they are delicious in their own right.

Variation: of you aren’t using preserved lemon, you can afford to go a bit more salty with snips of sun-dried tomatoes and slivers of olive; lovely with spiralised courgette/zucchini too (see below). Briefly cooked baby broad beans would also be a nice addition to this dish.