Lemon, Pea & Spinach Pasta

The recipes that become part of your home

There are recipes you save.

Then there are recipes you actually cook.

The difference is usually about the third time you make them. By then you’ve stopped following the instructions exactly. You know which pan to use, which ingredients can be swapped, and what you tend to add depending on the season.

Eventually the recipe isn’t really anyone else’s anymore.

It becomes part of your kitchen.

This pasta is one of those recipes for us.

We’ve borrowed ideas from different versions over the years, changed ingredients depending on what was in the fridge, simplified a few steps, and gradually settled on something that feels entirely our own.

It’s the sort of meal we make on a Tuesday night, but equally the sort of meal we’d happily serve to friends on a Saturday afternoon.

Simple enough for everyday.
Good enough to share.

Why we keep coming back to it

There are a few reasons this recipe has earned a permanent place in our rotation.

It only uses one pan.

That means less washing up, but more importantly it means less thinking. Everything cooks together, the pasta creates its own silky sauce, and there isn’t a sink full of pots waiting afterwards.

It’s incredibly forgiving.

If someone arrives early while you’re hosting, it doesn’t matter if you stop to answer the door. If the pasta cooks another minute while you’re chatting, nothing is ruined. Those are the kinds of recipes we find ourselves relying on most often.

And perhaps our favourite thing…

It changes with the seasons.

In spring we’ll add asparagus. If we have half a preserved lemon in the fridge, that goes in too. Sometimes there’s a little more spinach, sometimes a little more Parmesan.

The recipe stays familiar while still making room for whatever happens to be available.

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

• 500g farfalle
• 3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 250g frozen peas 
• 150–200g baby spinach
• Zest of one lemon
• Juice of one lemon
• Olive oil
• Freshly grated Parmesan
• Salt and black pepper

Optional

• Half a preserved lemon, finely chopped
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut into pieces (when in season)

Method

1. Place the pasta into a large shallow pan and add enough water to just cover it.
2. Add the garlic, stock cube, a generous drizzle of olive oil and the lemon zest. If you’re using preserved lemon, add that now too.
3. Bring everything to a simmer, stirring occasionally as the pasta cooks. As the water reduces, it begins creating a light sauce rather than needing a separate one.
4. A few minutes before the pasta is cooked, stir through the peas. If asparagus is in season, add it at the same time.
5. Once the pasta is tender and most of the liquid has reduced, fold through the spinach until just wilted.
6. Finish with the lemon juice, plenty of freshly grated Parmesan and cracked black pepper.

Serve immediately with extra Parmesan on the table.

A few things we’ve learnt

Don’t worry if it looks a little wet.

The sauce continues to thicken for a minute or two once it comes off the heat.

Preserved lemon is a lovely addition, but not essential.

If we happen to have half a jar in the fridge, we’ll finely chop a little and stir it through at the beginning. It adds a gentle savouriness that fresh lemon can’t quite replicate.

Use the vegetables as a guide, not a rule.

Asparagus appears for a few weeks each year, so that’s when it joins the pot. The rest of the year, we simply leave it out.

Recipes don’t need to be identical every time to become favourites.

Food is meant to evolve

One of the nicest things about cooking is that recipes rarely stay still.

A dish might begin in a cookbook, be adapted after making it a few times, and then quietly evolve over the years as your tastes change.

We think that’s exactly how home cooking should work.

The best recipes aren’t the ones followed perfectly.

They’re the ones that become yours.

 

Make it your own

One of the reasons we come back to this recipe so often is that it happily adapts to whatever’s in season or already in the fridge.

Here are a few of our favourite ways to change it throughout the year.

Add extra vegetables

This recipe is a great excuse to use up vegetables that need cooking.

Try adding:

• Sliced mushrooms
• Diced zucchini
• Cherry tomatoes
• Broccoli florets
• Thinly sliced leek

Simply cook them in the pan with the garlic before adding the pasta and water.

Make it heartier

If you’d like a little more protein, stir through a drained tin of chickpeas with the peas.

They warm through in a few minutes and make the dish surprisingly filling without changing the flavour.

Change the greens

Spinach is our favourite because it wilts so quickly, but almost any leafy green works.

Try:

• Baby kale
• Silverbeet
• Rocket (stirred through just before serving)
• Watercress

Change the pasta

We’ve settled on farfalle, but this is one of those recipes that’s happy to work with whatever you already have in the pantry.

Fusilli, penne, shells, orecchiette, fettuccine, spaghetti and pappardelle have all made appearances in our kitchen over the years.

Like most recipes we return to again and again, it’s less about choosing the “right” pasta and more about making something you’ll want to cook for years to come.

Finish it your way

Most nights we keep it simple with plenty of Parmesan and black pepper.

Other times we’ll add:

• Torn mozzarella
• Toasted pine nuts
• Extra lemon zest
• A drizzle of good olive oil

Little finishing touches can completely change the feel of the dish.

Like most recipes we return to again and again, this one is less about following instructions and more about creating something you’ll want to cook for years to come.