All there is left over in the fridge is some broccoli and salad ingredients that will soon be past their best. The answer, this lovely quick pasta dish adapted from one on the BBCs Good Eating website with a big salad to up the veg quotient (already high) and aid digestion (it’s the vinegar in the dressing you see).

Oh and the garlic is good for you too, although you want to watch who you talk to afterwards!

Ingredients

Big handful parmesan
Big handful basil
2 medium garlic cloves
Small packet pine nuts
Big splash olive oil
Head of broccoli
Penne pasta
Couple of big squeezes lemon juice
S&P
Big pinch chilli flakes

Serves 2

1 Make pesto by toasting pine nuts and then grinding them with the basil, half the parmesan, the garlic cloves, the chilli flakes, a squeeze of lemon, S&P,  big splash olive oil
2 Put pasta in boiling salted water, cook until done
3 In the mean time, steam broccoli (7 mins)
4 Chop broccoli (I have been known to just use scissors in the steamer/pan to save burnt fingers and washing up)
5 Mix broccoli, pesto, pasta, the last of the parmesan and a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy with a nice big salad to finish.