A recipe for the start of summer - lemony, creamy vegetable pasta

I based this on the lovely recipe for creamy pasta with lemon and thyme from the wonderful blog Lucillian Delights (May entry). The lemon rind and juice pairs surprisingly well with the pasta. I wish I had a photo, you'll just have to trust me that it looks and tastes good :-) I tried to take a picture with my shoddy camera, but my lack of skill behind the lens made this delightful dish look like either school dinner or worse still, prison food. But don't be put off, try it, it's yummy.

Ingredients (for 2):

• 2 big handfuls of pasta or enough for 2 people (use a good italian brand - I prefer something like shells or spirals that will 'catch' the juices)
• Grated rind of a bit less than 1 lemon
• Juice of a bit less than half a lemon (check to taste)
• Creme fraiche (or marscapone with a bit of cream whisked in), about 3 tablespoonfuls
• Generous pinch of dried or fresh thyme
• A selection of green vegetables (a handful, chopped should be enough): skinny green asparagus if they're in season, spring onions, baby florets of broccoli, spinach (apart from the spinach cut these up into quite delicate pieces, you don't want them to be much bigger than the pieces of pasta, also I wouldn't add all of these vegetables, maybe just a selection of 3)
• Olive oil
• Butter

Start to cook you pasta. In the meantime heat a little olive oil and butter in a frying pan, add the lemon rind and thyme and soften it a little on a medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add your green vegetables (though if you're using spinach don't add it till a bit later), Cook your vegetables till they are tender but still have quite a bit of crunch and colour (about 5 minutes). Add about half of your creme fraiche, mix in, add a little lemon, mix - add/adjust creme fraiche and lemon till you get the right taste (you don't want it to be excessivley lemony, and you don't want to add so much cream that it waters down the lemon and vegetables too much. Allow to bubble for a minute or so, add pepper to taste. Stir in the cooked pasta. Enjoy!

This is also great of you add cubes of fresh salmon a couple of minutes after you add the vegetables. (Would probably work with smoked salmon too).