I don’t know which is my favourite part of this pasta, the deep-fried cubes of courgette, or the enormous quantity of fresh basil. Our thanks go to Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers of the River Café who make this with Pecorino cheese which we can’t get here, but parmesan works just as well. This year for the first time we’ve grown small-leaf basil, which from two weak seedlings have grown into two pots of vibrant basil, more pungent than the larger leafed variety so a bit overwhelming in a salad but great for cooking.Serves 6 as a starter or 4 hungry people 900g small young courgettes, trimmed 250ml olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 small dried red chilli, crumbled 5 medium organic eggs, lightly beaten 200g parmesan, grated Bunch of fresh basil, cut into ribbons Dice the courgettes. Heat the oil in a thick-bottomed pan and fry the courgettes in batches, one layer at a time. Do not leave the pan as they take seconds to brown and go crispy. Remove from the pan and put onto a plate with kitchen paper to drain. Cook your preferred pasta. Return to the hot saucepan, then season the pasta with salt and pepper and the crumbled dried chilli. Add the beaten eggs and stir to combine, allowing the egg to cook in contact with the hot pasta. Add the diced courgettes, half the cheese, and the basil. Serve, sprinkled with the rest of the parmesan on top. 5 to remember mediano/a – medium-sized orgánico/a – organic la cinta – ribbon el dado – dice el papel hogar – kitchen paper ‘River Café Cook Book Two’ by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers