Three simple vegetarian spring pasta recipes from Julia Busuttil Nishimura | Australian food and drink

Orecchiette with slow-cooked tomato and ricotta

(Pictured above)

When I lived in Italy, I would eat versions of this pasta every week. Sometimes without ricotta, sometimes with ricotta and sausage, or ricotta and zucchini. I love how sweet the tomatoes become when they cook ever so slowly, and almost confit in the oil. Buy the ripest and reddest tomatoes you can find.

Serves 4

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
500g cherry tomatoes
Handful of basil leaves
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
Sea salt
400g orecchiette
200g firm full-fat ricotta
Parmigiano reggiano, grated, to serve (substitute with rennet-free parmesan for vegetarians)

Place the olive oil, tomatoes, basil and garlic in a large frying pan, add a good pinch of salt and set over the lowest heat. Gently cook, adding a few splashes of water to stop the sauce drying out, if needed, for 35 to 40 minutes or until the tomatoes have completely collapsed and the sauce is thick.

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until just before al dente. Use a sieve to transfer the pasta directly to the sauce, reserving the pasta water.

Add the ricotta to the pasta, along with some of the reserved pasta water, and stir to incorporate. Continue cooking the pasta, adding more pasta water as needed to help loosen the sauce, until al dente.

Season with salt to taste and serve topped with plenty of grated parmigiano and a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Spaghetti with broad beans and basil pesto

This recipe is really a classic pesto alla genovese, with broad beans to give a creamy texture and flavour. While fresh broad beans hold their shape better once cooked (more robust and less waterlogged), frozen ones are totally acceptable too. This makes quite a bit of pesto, so you can reserve a little for another meal, if you prefer; however, I tend to use the full amount as I love the pasta well coated.

Serves 4

350g podded broad beans
400g spaghetti
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Grated pecorino romano, to serve (substitute with rennet-free pecorino-style cheese for vegetarians)

For pesto alla genovese
1 garlic clove, peeled
70g pine nuts
2 bunches of basil, leaves picked
30g parmigiano reggiano, grated (for vegetarians, substitute with rennet-free parmesan)
30g pecorino romano, grated (for vegetarians, substitute with rennet-free pecorino-style cheese)
80ml extra-virgin olive oil (⅓ cup)
Sea salt

Blanch the broad beans in a saucepan of boiling water. Refresh in cold water and drain. Double-pod half the beans and set aside for serving. Reserve the single-podded beans for the pesto.

For the pesto alla genovese, halve the garlic and remove the green shoot from inside, if present. Place the garlic, pine nuts, basil, cheeses and single-podded beans in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you have a fairly smooth paste.

Drizzle in the olive oil, season with salt and continue to blitz until smooth. Transfer to a large serving bowl.

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Transfer the pasta directly to the bowl of pesto. Reserve 80ml (⅓ cup) of pasta water. Add the double-podded beans and toss to coat, adding the pasta water a little at a time to help loosen the sauce as needed.

Season to taste and serve with a good drizzle of extra olive oil and extra grated pecorino.

Fusilli with zucchini and creme fraiche

My favourite time to make this pasta is late spring and early summer when zucchini are small and slender, and sweet and tender with minimal seeds. If you have some zucchini flowers, they are so beautiful roughly torn and stirred through at the end too. I love fusilli with this dish but casarecce or rigatoni are also lovely.

Serves 4

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
700g slender zucchini, cut into 1cm rounds
Sea salt
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
Handful of basil leaves, plus extra to serve
400g fusilli
100g creme fraiche
50g unsalted butter
Grated parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano, to serve (substitute with rennet-free parmesan and pecorino-style cheese for vegetarians)
Black pepper
Zucchini flowers, roughly torn (optional)

Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the zucchini with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and beginning to colour, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and basil and cook for another 30 seconds or until fragrant. Reduce the heat to low-medium.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until just before al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, add a little of the pasta water to the zucchini and continue cooking until soft. Each time you add a little water, let it fully cook off and the zucchini begin to fry before adding more water.