Linguine with Courgettes, Pine Nuts and Balsamic Vinegar

A delicious weekday meal with only a few ingredients...

This week you will notice that my photos have not been taken in my little kitchen but instead are from my parents' home, formally my home. Cooking here reminds me of all the times I used to help stir the bechamel or grate the cheddar cheese for whatever dinner we were served as children and that fills me with a lot of warmth.

With the help of my Mama I made a pasta dish which we used to have as a family when I was growing up.  If you have the cupboard staples of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pine nuts, parmesan and garlic then the only ingredients left to buy are an onion and some courgettes - you then have a tasty midweek meal in under half an hour.

Ingredients:

3 courgettes

1 white onion

1 tblsp pine nuts

2 tblsp balsamic vinegar

Enough linguine for 3 people (Mum, Dad and me!)

A handful of fresh herbs - preferably basil

A handful of parmesan

Drizzle of olive oil

Method:

In a dry pan (no oil!) toast the pine nuts being careful not to let them burn. (The light browning of the kernels happens all of a sudden, so keep them moving around the pan so they don't catch).

Remove the pine nuts from the pan and add a drizzle of olive oil.  Soften the finely chopped onion and garlic keeping the heat low.

Add the matchsticks of courgette and stir. Make sure they don't stick and become brown - just let them soften.

After a few minutes add the lid to the pan so the courgettes cook through. Check every couple of minutes to ensure the mixture doesn't catch.

Heat a kettle and cook the pasta in well-salted water. When the linguine is nearly cooked, add the balsamic vinegar to the  courgette mixture, and keep the lid off the pan to boil off some of the acidity.

Add ripped herbs, pine nuts, the drained linguine, and mix well. Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan, and dinner is served!