Penne with courgette flowers

Ingredients (Serves 4 as a starter)

8 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, bashed, but left whole

2 anchovy fillets

2 small onions, sliced finely

2 small courgettes, sliced lengthways finely

240ml/8fl oz approx vegetable stock

16 courgette flowers, torn in half

20 fresh basil leaves

salt and feashly ground black pepper to taste

255g/9oz dried pennette pasta (or another type of short dried pasta)

30g/1oz parmesan cheese, freshly grated

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preparation method

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sweat the garlic until golden. Remove the garlic and add the anchovy fillets. Dissolve the anchovy fillets with the help of a wooden spoon.

Add the onions and sweat. Then add the courgettes.

At this stage add about 4 ladles of vegetable stock followed by the courgette flowers and basil leaves. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Taste for salt and pepper - be careful with the salt if your vegetable stock was salty!

Meanwhile, cook the pasta until "al dente" and drain. Add the pasta to the sauce, mix well and stir in the parmesan cheese. Serve immediately on individual serving plates drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil