Pasta with Pesto, Green Beans & Potatoes Recipe
3 cups fresh basil leaves (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup olive oil - divided
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 cloves hardneck garlic
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (about 3 ounces)
1/2 pound green beans - trimmed and halves cross-wise
1/2 pound white-skinned potatoes - peeled & cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Sea Salt and Ground Telicherry Peppercorns to taste
12 ounces of Long Pasta
Pasta with Pesto, Green Beans & Potatoes Recipe
This is a classic Italian pasta dish - perfect for the early fall when the potatoes and beans are coming into the market and you begin to have a hankering for heartier fair. Although it is traditionally made with Fettuccine, any long pasta will work.
In this case, the recipes calls for walnuts, as well as pine nuts. If the pesto becomes too thick, you can use some of the pasta water to thin the sauce. You should be careful to add the liquid a little bit at a time - after you have combined the pasta, pesto and veggies together.
Adapted from The Bon Appetit Cookbook, (Conde Naste Publications, 2008).
Directions:
1. Place 1/4 cup olive oil, basil, pine nuts, walnuts and garlic in a food processor and blend until finely chopped.
2. Add Parmigiano Reggiano. With machine running, gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil, until a course paste forms.
3. Season pesto to taste with sea salt and pepper.
4. Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender - about 4 minutes.
5. Using a strainer, remove the bean from the pot and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
6. Add potatoes to the same cooking water and boil until tender - about 7 minutes.
7. Using the same strainer, transfer the potatoes to the bowl with the beans.
8. Return cooking liquid to a boil.
9. Add pasta and boil according to manufacturer's recommendations - until the pasta is al dente.
10. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
11. Return beans, potatoes and cooked pasta to the same pot.
12. Add pesto and toss to coat - gradually adding enough of the reserved cooking liquid to the pesto to coat the pasta with moist sauce.
Season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Transer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.
