There’s nothing faster than pasta for busy summer evenings

Dinner in five minutes always sounds tempting. There’s nothing faster than pasta, so I love to have a few bags of fresh egg pasta in the fridge as it cooks so quickly. For an incredibly fast, substantial dinner, try fresh tortellini. I always fold through extra tomatoes or sliced courgette, a chunky tomato sauce or a few handfuls of fresh spinach leaves. To make a quick lasagne-style dish, layer Ragu-stuffed tortellini with tomato sauce and mozzarella slices – a simple summer pasta bake.

I just love this easy spaghetti dish. I use fresh egg spaghetti that cooks in 3-4 minutes. Using a mini chopper, I dice the tomatoes and then mix them with some crushed garlic, shredded basil, salt and pepper. You can do this up to four hours in advance, cover and leave at room temperature for the flavours to get to know each other. Fold through some freshly grated Parmesan before serving with a big green salad or garlic bread.

I also sometimes fold through a tin of drained butterbeans. It might sound like an odd combination but it’s a great way to make this more of a hearty meal and adds much needed protein to balance out the dish.

You could also top this with grilled chicken or crack open a jar of tuna in olive oil. Jars and tinned foods such as sardines, tuna, beans and lentils are fantastic pantry staples for creating quick, balanced meals over the busy summer period when no one really feels like spending too much time in the kitchen.

Five-minute summer spaghetti

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This dish relies on some really good tomatoes. I’ve left them raw and they gently warm as they’re combined with the hot spaghetti. It’s a great dish to celebrate home-grown summer tomatoes as they really shine in this. Use heirloom varieties in different colours to make this a real tomato feast. Another fantastic dish for kids to help make too.

Recipe: Five-minute summer spaghetti

Lilly’s kitchen tips:

1. Pine nuts are quite expensive and can turn rancid quickly, so store them in the freezer. Toasted sunflower seeds are a more affordable substitute and give that same nutty crunch to this dish.
2. Have a jar of toasted seeds in the kitchen for adding to summer salads and pasta dishes like this that need a bit of texture and more nutrients.
3. Grow oregano and marjoram in your garden. I always use it instead of basil. It grows so well here in Ireland and you’re not buying imported basil flown from halfway across the globe. Just wander into your garden and pick a handful, it’s so nutritious too.

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