Celebrating spring with broad bean and pea pesto

One of the most beautiful things about spring is the way all plants just leap forth into life and grow with such exuberance. Virtually overnight, my peas and broad beans quit moping, doubled in height, burst into flower and suddenly, there's little pods everywhere!

Broad bean plants at my community garden plot

Broad beans and peas are both legumes, which means they add nitrogen to the soil as they grow – this is the stuff that helps plants produce strong leafy growth. You can use them as a green manure to improve your soil. Simpy grow them until the plant is about 30cm tall then chop it up and dig it into the soil while it’s at its nitrogen-fixing best. You need to do this before they flower as that reduces the amount of nitrogen they put into the soil by up to 95 per cent. Broad beans and peas can be planted at the start of winter for an early spring crop, or in August/September for a late spring/early summer crop.

Amazing scarlet broad bean flowers. The flowers are usually white.

If you’d rather eat them, leave them to flower – these will turn into the pods that you eat. Pick the pods young and munch on them raw, in the shell or out. If you leave them on the plant for a few more days, they will get a lot bigger and a little tougher so they will benefit from being shelled and cooked for a few minutes - steamed, boiled, sautéed with a little garlic and oil, or stir-fried. If you’d like to save them for later, blanch the shelled beans and peas (plunge in boiling water for 30 seconds then immerse in icy cool water and drain), put them in a zip-lock bag and freeze – they’ll last for months this way.

Pea and broad bean pods

Shelled broad beans

For this lovely meal, I baked up a batch of crackers using this super quick and healthy recipe (1 tablespoon of chia seeds soaked in 3 tbsp of water for five minutes makes a great egg-free alternative) with some fresh rosemary thrown in. I then smushed up the below pesto, dolloped it on the crackers and there it was, the perfect spring snack. 

Broad bean and pea pesto

Makes 2 healthy serves

Place a handful each of shelled beans, peas and cashews in the food processor or mortar and pestle. Add half an avocado, a crushed garlic clove, a good pinch each of salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon and a seriously good slug of olive oil. Pulse (or pound with the pestle) until you’ve got the desired consistency – chunky, smooth or somewhere in between.

Serve on bread, with crackers or stirred through pasta or zoodles.

Broad bean and pea pesto with homemade crackers

Saying thanks with spring greens spaghetti

My wonderful dad just spent the best part of two long weekends building me a beautiful planter box for my courtyard. My response was to cook him this quick but gorgeous pasta dish. I’m normally a zoodles (zucchini noodles) or spaghetti squash kinda girl – both are great healthy options that would also work really well – but I chose to use good ol’ spaghetti for my dish for dad.

My courtyard planter box, freshly planted with a fig tree and herbs

This dish makes the most of seasonal produce, picked super fresh – colourful kales, broccoli florets as well as broccoli leaves. I’ve grown broccoli for years but it had never occurred to me to use the leaves until I saw them being touted as the new superfood. I was just happy to find out I could use so much more of the plant! Simply chop the leaves finely for salads or coleslaw, or lightly sauté them in a little olive oil or incorporate them into a stir-fry. The flowers are also edible – you can snack on them or use them as a garnish on salads or cakes.

Purple broccoli is my favourite as it's sweeter than green broccoli

Research suggests broccoli helps lower the risk of cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease while boosting overall health, giving you a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy, improved digestion and improved bone density thanks to the vitamin K.

A lot of people don’t like broccoli as they’re haunted by the overcooked, oversalted limp stuff of their childhood. But fresh, lightly cooked broccoli is amazing. Homegrown broccoli is so sweet it can be eaten raw straight off the plant.

Spaghetti with spring greens, garlic, pine nuts and lemon

Serves 2

Cooked pasta, zoodles or spaghetti squash

A handful of pine nuts

Several kale and broccoli leaves (or silverbeet, spinach, pak choy etc), sliced into ribbons

Several broccoli florets

Three garlic cloves, crushed or roughly chopped

The zest of half a lemon

Salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toss regularly for a few minutes until they start to brown as they toast. Tip the nuts into a dish and set aside.

Pour a seriously good slosh of olive oil to the pan, add the garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes – keep the garlic moving so it doesn’t burn. Add the broccoli and the other greens, using your wooden spoon to turn them over to coat them in the oil. Keep sautéing them for 3-4 minutes until the leaves have wilted and the florets are crisp but tender. Toss in the pine nuts, the finely grated lemon zest and sprinkle in some salt and pepper to taste.  

Serve immediately with your favourite pasta.

Spring greens spaghetti - quick, fresh and delicious