Spaghetti with spring greens, butter beans and harissa

One of my favourite kitchen shortcuts? Harissa and cream cheese mixed to make a sauce. The cream cheese rounds out the heat from the harissa, and together they work perfectly with everything from beans to pasta. Spring greens add welcome colour and the whole lot is spiked with lemon at the end; it’s one of my most-made pasta dishes.

Prep 10 min, cook 15 min, serves 4. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a boil, then cook the spaghetti for nine minutes, or according to the packet instructions, until al dente. Two minutes before the pasta is ready, add the spring greens and, if need be, top up the pan with extra boiling water.

Drain the pasta and greens, retaining a mugful of cooking water, then return them both to the pan and put it on a low heat. Add the butter beans, cream cheese, harissa and most of the lemon juice, stirring until everything is evenly coated; add a splash or two of the reserved pasta water to loosen if needed.

spaghetti, pasta, spring greens, butter beans, harissa, cream cheese, lemon juice, al dente, pasta water, sauce