I love using vegetables that are in season – cheap and at their very best! Spring greens all the way for me – I’ve washed, shredded and blanched three portions. This was how I used the remainder.

This could easily be made vegetarian by omitting the bacon. It was delicious!

Spaghetti, spring greens with hazelnuts and bacon

Preparation Time:20 mins

Cooking Time:20 mins

Serves:1

Calories per serving:  510.7

How to toast and skin hazelnuts:   Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  In a baking pan toast hazelnuts in one layer in middle of oven 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly coloured and skins are blistered.

Wrap nuts in a clean tea towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove loose skins (don’t worry about skins that don’t come off) and cool completely.

To blanch the spring greens:   Remove ends and tough centre stems. Wash thoroughly in plenty of cold water.  Finely shred the leaves. Add to a saucepan of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes or until bright green. …

Transfer the vegetables to a bowl of iced water to refresh. This cools them quickly so they don’t continue to cook…. (I just place them in a colander and run under the cold water tap…)

Drain throughly. Don’t soak for more than 2-3 minutes or they may lose flavour.

and here is the recipe…..

Ingredients

Bacon, Lardons, Smoked – 25g

Cabbage, Spring Greens, blanched – 100g

Spaghetti, Whole Wheat, Dry Weight – 50g

Cheddar Cheese, Extra Mature, Average – 25g

Oil, Olive – 1 Tsp/5ml

Hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and roughly chopped – 15g

Method

Wash and finely shred the spring greens. Cook the spaghetti as per the packet instructions and drain when cooked.

Bring a large pain of water to the boil. Add a pinch of salt and the greens to the boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water. Drain thoroughly.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the chopped bacon/ lardons and fry for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring regularly, until the fat has melted and the bacon is crisp and golden-brown.

Add the cooked spring greens to the pan and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, or until wilted and coated in the fat. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped hazelnuts. Mix in the cooked spaghetti.

Sprinkle with the (grated) cheese and serve immediately.

Picture shows before the cheese was sprinkled on. If I were to change anything, I might suggest adding a spoonful of creme fraiche.

Nutrition Data Per Serving

Calories (kcal) 510.7

Protein (g) 22.7

Carbohydrate (g) 33.8

Fat (g) 31.6

Fruit & Veg 1.3

Fibre (g) 8.2