Asparagus and green bean pasta salad with pine nuts

Yay!  Asparagus in the veg box! Yay!   oh, were you watching? How very embarassing!  But, frankly, I don't care - I was very very pleased to see the new season asparagus in the organic veg box - it's a late spring, and it's been a while coming.  I wondered whether to showcase the asparagus, as often happens, as a starter and then have our main dish - but I decided to go with our usual one dish dinner and to have asparagus as a delicious ingredient amongst others.

So, ...

Rape seed oil
Lemon
Chinese leaf
Lettuce
Watercress
Green beans
asparagus
Farfalle pasta
Pine nuts
basil
Parmesan (to serve)

1. Put water on to boil in a pan big enough to take the pasta, and hold steamers for the vegetables.
2. Remove the woody ends from the asparagus, chop the stems into 1 inch pieces, reserving the delicate spears.
3. Top and tail the beans and cut into bite sized pieces.
4.  Boil the pasta in water, after a minute or so put the veg pieces on to steam (not the spears, put them in 5 minutes later.
5.  Drizzle oil onto a serving plate, squirt on lemon juice and add some seasoning.  Chuck on the salad leaves .. whichever you are using.
6.  Lightly fry the pine nuts until golden brown - watch them, they WILL burn if you take your eyes off them.
7. Drain the pasta and veg, drizzle on oil and squirt with lemon, toss and add to presentation plate.
8. Liberally sprinkle on toasted pine nuts, shave on parmesan to date.

Scoff.  Bring on summer.