One pot Italian pasta with walnut basil pesto, potato, and green beans
Recipe & Food Styling ANNA Magazine
Emailed from Calabria, from a friend's Italian grandmother, this recipe is one of our favourites.
Luscious walnut pesto with al dente cooked pasta, fresh green beans, and new baby potatoes transforms humble ingredients into a spectacular meal.
Ingredients
1 package linguine pasta
Walnut basil pesto
½ cup walnuts
3 cloves garlic, peeled
½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano or good Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup fresh basil leaves
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 baby potatoes, white or red
½ pound green beans, French-ed (see note in directions)
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Lovely served with roasted Italian sausage
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Preparation
For pesto, place garlic, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, and basil in the bowl of food processor and pulse until puréed; about 1 minute. With food processor running, gradually add olive oil until just emulsified. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in large stockpot, bring potatoes to boil with well-salted water and cook until slightly tender, about 5 minutes. In the same pot, add pasta and continue cooking another 5-7 minutes. Add green beans to the pot and cook 1 more minute. Remove from heat and drain, leaving about 1 cup pasta water in the stockpot.
Add pesto to the stockpot, place back over medium-high heat and toss well for about 1-2 minutes until pasta is well coated with pesto and water has evaporated. Remove from heat, transfer to large serving bowl, season with salt and pepper; serve immediately.
Note: To "French" green beans, trim ends and slice in half. This is a more delicate way of serving green beans, and more visually pleasing as well.
