Serves 3-4

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes

200g fusilli pasta

350g peas, podded, or 150g frozen peas

A small head of broccoli

A small packet of radishes, sliced

50g Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved into

thin slices

Juice of half a lemon

A handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped

A head of Romaine lettuce, roughly torn up

For the pesto

100g walnuts

2 small handfuls of basil leaves

2 small handfuls of mint leaves

2 garlic cloves, peeled

75g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

200ml olive oil

Salt and pepper

Put a large pan of water on to boil and season well with salt. Seasoning the water will season the pasta, making the whole dish full of flavour. Boiling up a large pan of water will give the pasta room to cook and prevent it from sticking together. When the water is at a rolling boil add the pasta and cook according to packet instructions, testing it a couple of minutes before you think it will be ready, to make sure that it's al dente. In the meantime break up the broccoli into florets, slice up the stalk and steam the pieces, along with the peas, in a centimetre or two of water in a saucepan for 4-5 min. Leave the lid on until the last minute and then remove it so the water steams away.

To make the pesto, toast the walnuts in a dry, heated frying-pan for 5 min, shaking from time to time until lightly toasted all over. Whizz them briefly in a food processor with the herbs and garlic before adding the cheese and whizzing again for 10 sec to 15 sec. Add the olive oil, and pulse for a few seconds. If you process the olive oil for any length of time, it will turn the pesto from a brilliant green colour to a paler emulsified sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper (you add salt at this stage but as the parmesan is very salty you may not need any).

When the pasta is cooked, drain it over a small bowl or mug so that you can keep some of the cooking water. Toss the pasta in a little olive oil and a few tablespoons of the pasta water to prevent it from sticking. Add peas, broccoli, radish and mint leaves to the pasta and toss in a third to a half of the pesto, depending on how you like it. (The rest you can keep in the fridge for another day - if you add a layer of oil, it should keep for a month.) Squeeze over the lemon juice, check for seasoning, toss in the salad leaves and top with shaved parmesan at the table.

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