Lemony salmon pasta with courgettes and peas

Before I had children, I wasted so much time; I faffed about. Procrastination was my middle name. Once I lived without any bedroom curtains for a summer because I couldn’t find the time to choose some. Well, what a fool I was. Now when I see friends pregnant with their first child I plead with them to get all those niggling little jobs done. For once that baby is out time evaporates. It slips away, though happily I might add. Any parent will testify that the days are long but the years are short.

Here’s a pasta dish for when 20 minutes is all you can spare at the end of a long day, whether you have children or not.

INGREDIENTS

200g conchiglie pasta

75g salted butter

1 courgette, cut in half lengthways and then into half moons

100g frozen peas

1 lemon, finely zested and juiced

120g smoked salmon slices or trimmings, torn into pieces if large

50g parmesan, grated

ground black pepper

METHOD

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan over a low heat and add the courgette, peas and the lemon zest and juice. Fry until the courgettes have sucked up all that buttery, lemony goodness and the peas look soft and cooked through; this should only take about 5 minutes. Stir in the smoked salmon and remove the pan from the heat.

When the pasta is cooked, drain well and add to the frying pan. Stir well to coat all the pasta with the sauce and let the residual heat warm through the smoked salmon. Split between serving dishes, top with the Parmesan and black pepper and enjoy.

Supper served in 20 minutes flat.

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