Make this recipe even easier: Blending the courgettes with creme fraiche is optional. I love doing it that way as I find it makes it so much creamier and luscious, but without the need for more cream and cheese, but you don’t need to do it. Just add creme fraiche, parm and pasta water to the pan of pasta, courgette and sausages and toss together -like really toss it together until deliciously creamy. Add a little of the pasta cooking water at a time and just keep stirring until it’s how you want it.

Fennel sausages: this would be delicious with fennel sausages if you can find them but any good quality sausages with high pork percentage is good. You could add a sprinkle of fennel seeds into this pasta dish, when frying the sausages, if you want to do it that way. You could also use sausage meat mince - you probably need 300g roughly.

Parmesan: measure with your heart! Just eye ball it and taste as you go. Parmesan is obviously salty so watch your seasoning elsewhere. If you season the pasta water well, you should be off to a good start already as that adds a nice depth of flavour without it being overly salted, since it gets absorbed into the pasta.

Make it veggie: This works with veggie sausages. Break them apart and fry in olive oil (they won’t crumble as much but they do break down into chunks). Continue as normal. Otherwise, just make this a creamy courgette pasta, no sausages. That will still be delicious but just a little different. I would maybe add red onion, garlic and anchovies (if you’re pescetarian) to add a bit more flavour to the courgettes. Some lemon zest would be good too.

Make it spicy: add some chilli flakes or fresh chilli when frying the courgette.

If you want to double the recipe: just double everything.

A note on pasta shape: Use any shape you like. I love orecchiette here as the little ears scoop up the sauce nicely. I tend to go with shorter pasta here as it matches the courgette size.

A note on crème fraiche: crème fraiche is best here as it’s rich enough to be saucy but tangy, so it’s not as rich as using double cream. But if you have some mascarpone, cream cheese or double cream open in the fridge, you can use this. Mascarpone - you can use the full 150g. For cream cheese or double cream, I would start slower as they are a bit richer. Add a dollop/good splash to the blender with the courgettes, and then add a dollop/pour more when mixing with the pasta. Stir and taste, see how it is and how it looks. You can always add more but can’t take away - something to bear in mind!

What to do with leftovers: this will keep in the fridge for 3 days with no problem. To reheat, I like to either blast in the microwave 1-2 minutes until piping hot. Or add to a pan over medium heat with a splash of water or a knob of butter and just stir occasionally until heated through. I don’t love reheated pasta as it inevitably over cooks and goes a little too soft but I can make an exception for this.