CHITARRA WITH COURGETTES & PEAS

If you’re making this dish in the summer you can use yellow courgettes, if there are any available. You don’t really see so much of the bold yellow colour once the courgettes are grated, but they have a mild buttery flavour which I really like. You can mix with half green courgettes, or use Romana courgettes if you’re lucky enough to grow them or buy them at a market, but really any fresh firm courgettes will do.

I like to serve this with lemon ricotta, which adds a creamy sharp freshness to the dish, but you can finish the plate with grated Parmesan if you like.

Grate the courgettes (zucchini) using the largest holes on a box grater. Transfer to a colander, scatter with a generous pinch or two of table salt, mix well with your hands and leave to one side to allow the courgettes to lose some of their excess moisture. This will take about 30 minutes.

If you’re making the lemon ricotta then do this next. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon and season to taste. Cover and set aside while you make the courgette sauce.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the garlic and chilli for a couple of minutes until fragrant but not browned, then add the grated courgette and frozen peas and mix everything together. Leave on a low heat while you cook the pasta.

Set a large pan of water on the hob and, when the water is boiling, season it generously with table salt. Carefully drop the pasta into the water and cook for 2 minutes.

Use tongs to transfer the chittara to the sauce, adding half a ladleful of the pasta cooking water. Add a dash of olive oil, scatter over the chopped mint leaves and toss together. Season to taste, then share between four warmed plates.

Add a large spoonful of lemony ricotta to each plate, finishing with a final twist of black pepper, or grate over a generous amount of Parmesan.