Italian · Lunch · Dinner
Pasta with Genovese Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans
Pasta al pesto genovese con patate e fagiolini
Whole-wheat pasta tossed with a bright, fragrant basil pesto, tender potato cubes and green beans, the way it is served in Liguria. Every forkful is fresh, nutty and cheesy.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 53% · Fat 34% · Protein 13%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 4 litres4,000 gwater (for boiling)
- 1 tsp6 gsalt (for the pasta water)
- 320 gwhole-wheat pasta (trofie, linguine or spaghetti), dry
- 1 medium200 gpotato, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes
- 2 cups200 ggreen beans, trimmed and halved
- 3 packed cups60 gfresh basil leaves
- 3 tbsp30 gpine nuts
- 1 clove5 ggarlic
- 1 pinchcoarse salt (for the pesto)
- 1/3 cup30 gParmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
- 3 tbsp15 gPecorino, finely grated
- 3 tbsp40 gextra virgin olive oil
Steps
- 1
Bring the water to a boil in a large pot and add the 1 tsp salt.
- 2
Meanwhile, crush the garlic with the pinch of coarse salt in a mortar or pulse it in a small food processor.
- 3
Add the pine nuts and pound or pulse until they form a coarse paste.
- 4
Add the basil leaves and grind gently until finely chopped and creamy; avoid over-processing so the basil stays bright green.
- 5
Mix in the Parmigiano and Pecorino.
- 6
Slowly stir in the olive oil until the pesto is smooth, then set aside at room temperature.
- 7
Add the potato cubes and pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the pasta packet time, usually 10–12 minutes.
- 8
Add the green beans for the last 6 minutes of cooking, until the beans and potatoes are tender.
- 9
Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining.
- 10
Drain the pasta, potatoes and beans and return them to the pot off the heat.
- 11
Add the pesto with 2–4 tbsp of the reserved water and toss until glossy; do not heat the pesto or it will darken.
- 12
Serve straight away.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- For a vegetarian version, replace the Parmigiano and Pecorino with a vegetarian hard Italian-style cheese made without animal rennet.
- To make it dairy-free, leave out both cheeses and stir 2 tbsp nutritional yeast into the pesto with an extra pinch of salt.
- Use toasted sunflower seeds or walnuts instead of pine nuts if they are easier to find or more affordable.
- For a gluten-free version, use a pasta labelled gluten-free instead of whole-wheat pasta.
Storage
This dish is best eaten fresh, but leftovers can be refrigerated in a sealed container within 2 hours and eaten within 3 to 4 days, reheated gently with a splash of water until steaming hot. Do not freeze the finished dish, as the potatoes turn grainy and the pesto darkens.
Make ahead
Make the pesto up to 2 days ahead and keep it in the fridge in a small jar with a thin layer of olive oil on top to keep it green. Peel and cube the potato and trim the beans a few hours ahead, keeping the potato cubes covered in cold water in the fridge.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: GlutenMilk
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (1,227 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 524 kcal | 43 kcal |
| Protein | 18.5 g | 1.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 73.1 g | 6 g |
| of which sugars | 4.6 g | 0.4 g |
| Fiber | 10.3 g | 0.8 g |
| Fat | 20.6 g | 1.7 g |
| of which saturated | 3.9 g | 0.3 g |
| Sodium | 348 mg | 28 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
