Penne primavera

Serves 4 300g dried penne or other pasta shapes sea salt and black pepper 810 baby leeks, white part only 4 baby fennel, trimmed 8 radishes, trimmed and halved lengthways 6 baby carrots, scrubbed or peeled 4 baby turnips, scrubbed and halved 4 baby courgettes, trimmed and thickly sliced on the diagonal few thyme sprigs 34 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil juice of 1/2 lemon handful of basil leaves, shredded handful of mint leaves, shredded 34 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan, to serve (optional) For the pasta, bring a pot of salted water to the boil. At the same time, bring a large pan of water (that will take a large steamer basket) to the boil ready to steam the vegetables. Put all the baby vegetables into your steamer basket and sprinkle over the thyme sprigs and a little sea salt. Set the steamer basket over the pan of boiling water. Cover and steam for 68 minutes until the vegetables are just tender. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling salted water and cook until al dente, according to the packet instructions. Reserving a little water in the pan, drain the pasta into a colander then tip back into the pan and immediately toss with the olive oil and lemon juice. When cooked, add the vegetables to the pasta, discarding the thyme sprigs. Toss to mix and season well to taste. Mix through the shredded herbs and divide between warm serving plates. Serve as it is or with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan.

Copyright 2012 Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd.