Pasta with artichoke, green beans, lemon and spinach

This vegan recipe is loosely based on one WOTVM found in a magazine when she first started dating Mr Vegan Man. Being an avid cook, WOTVM was eager to impress Mr Vegan Man with one of her favourite homemade recipes, only to find out that he didn't eat meat, and doesn't like cheese. Then she came across this vegan pasta dish and took a gamble on it... fortunately it turned out great and we have been making and adapting it ever since, and so it has reached its current incarnation. The fresh green veg and lemon make it a lovely light dish for lunch or dinner on a warm day and it is beautiful with a crisp, cold glass of white wine.

Ingredients (serves 2)

200g pasta (linguine or spaghetti work well)
100g marinated artichoke hearts (either from the deli or from a jar), drained.
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1 small garlic clove, crushed
Handful of basil leaves
Handful of baby spinach leaves
Handful of fine green beans, chopped into bite size pieces
Toasted pine nuts and drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to finish
Pea shoots to garnish (optional)

The beauty of this tasty dish is that it can be assembled in the time it takes to cook the pasta (unless you are using fresh pasta)! So, the first thing to do is bring some water to the boil and then cook your chosen pasta according to the instructions on the pack. When your pasta has about 4 minutes left to go, chuck your chopped green beans in with the pasta to cook as well.

In the meantime, you can prepare the rest of your ingredients in a large bowl. Slice your artichoke hearts into quarters, add in the crushed garlic, basil leaves and spinach. Then simply squeeze in the fresh lemon juice and zest and give a stir to combine.

Toast your pine nuts in a dry frying pan, taking care not to burn them as they take on a golden colour quite quickly.

When your pasta is cooked (preferably al dente, but however you prefer it), drain, but make sure you reserve 2 tbsp. of the cooking liquid in the pan. Add the ingredients you have prepared in the bowl to the pasta pan along with the cooked pasta and beans, toss thoroughly and then put the lid on the pan for about a minute. The residual heat will wilt the spinach and allow the flavours to infuse.

Season well with freshly ground salt and black pepper to taste and serve simply in a bowl. To finish, drizzle with olive oil, scatter over a few toasted pine nuts and add a few pea shoots to garnish if using.

It's hard to believe that a dish that can be prepared from scratch in around 15 minutes can be so enjoyable. We'd choose this over a ready meal any time, and with such a quick and easy recipe, there's no excuse not to really! Enjoy!