This vibrant green sauce captures the flavors of Liguria and is traditionally served with hand-rolled pasta twists called trofie or small linguine called trenette. In Liguria, diced potato and green beans are added to the pasta water towards the end of cooking and drained with the pasta, then toasted pine nuts are scattered on top to serve.
INGREDIENTS
1 large potato, cut in thumbnail-sized dice
7 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut in 1-inch long pieces
basic pesta (see recipe)
extra virgin olive oil
flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful of toasted pine nuts
sprig of fresh basil leaves
grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese to serve
METHOD
Cook the chose pasta shape and the potato cubes in plenty of salted boiling water.
After 5 minutes, add the green beans. Place the pesto in the bottom of a large serving dish, then add the drained cooked pasta and vegetables and toss thoroughly coated, adding some extra olive oil if necessary. Top with scattered toasted pine nuts and torn fresh basil leaves.
Served with the freshly grated cheese.
NOTE If you don't have the time or energy, you can use any good brand of commercial pesto.
RECOMMENDED PASTA
Trofie, Trenette, egg pasta, Tagliatelle, Garganelli
TASTY TRANSFORMATIONS
CREAMY PESTO WITH
ASPARAGUS & CRISPY PANCETTA
INGREDIENTS
1 garlic clove, split into quarters
7 ounces finely chopped pancetta or bacon
3/4 ounce butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup basic pesto (see recipe)
10 ounces chopped asparagus (fork-sized pieces about 1-inch long)
flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper
grated zest of 1 lemon (if using dried pasta)
grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
METHOD
Fry the garlic clove and pancetta in the butter. When cooked but not too crisp, add the cream and pesto. Gently heat through and allow to chicken until it coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat.
Cook the pasta and asparagus together in a large pot of salted boiling water; the pasta should be al dente and the asparagus vibrant and crisp.
NOTE If using fresh pasta like tagliatelle, then 3 minutes in enough for both; if using dry pasts, add the asparagus to the water 3 minutes before the end of the pasta cooking time. Grate the lemon zest into the bottom of your serving bowl, add the hot drained pasta and asparagus to the pesto sauce. Mix well and serve immediately, with grated Parmesan and plenty of black pepper.
