Pesto "Linguine" pasta with potatoes and green beans (Linguine al pesto con patate e fagiolini)

by Bruna Conetta

Many Italian recipes do not have a clear origin, therefore they are contended among Italian regions, but that's not the case of pesto, it comes from the region of Liguria without any doubt. That's why saying "pesto" is like saying Genoa (the city) or Liguria (the region).

You can easily guess that pesto made in Genoa and surroundings, in which the real typical basil leaves of the areas are used, has an inimitable aroma and taste, but don't be afraid, you can make a good pesto using the fresh basil leaves that you will find in your area. 

Pesto is one of the most famous Italian sauces in the world, it is a cold sauce and the original recipe requires a marble mortar and a wooden pestle to mash all the ingredients together. But I think that even in Liguria only great-grandmothers still prepare pesto with the mortar, o maybe in some special events.

You can flavor the homemade pasta such as "Trofie" (typical of Liguria region), the packed pasta as spaghetti, and also gnocchi, which I recommend you to try, and not surprisingly, since it was my children's favorite!

Today, I will describe how to make the pesto in the food processor, and also how to make the pasta "linguine" with pesto, potatoes and green beans, because these vegetables combine very well together, and the outcome is delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 cup (~110 gr) fresh basil leaves 
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 1/3 cup (~ 75 gr) freshly grated Parmesan cheese 
• 2 tbsp (~ 30 gr) pine nuts
• 4 cloves of garlic 
• 2 medium potatoes
• 7 on (~200 gr) green beans 
• 1 lb (~ 500 gr) linguine pasta
• Salt

Directions 

Pesto sauce

Wash the basil leaves and dry them in a cloth.

Peel and slice the garlic.

Combine the basil leaves, garlic, Parmesan, extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts and a pinch of salt in the food processor and grind them to create a smooth sauce. 

Pesto "Linguine" pasta with potatoes and green beans

Peel the potatoes and dice them. 

Wash and dry the green beans, and cut off both ends.

It would be possible to cook the potatoes, the green beans and the linguine in the same pot at the same time, but it is preferable to cook them one by one because they have different cooking times. You can cook them in the same pot and in the same water, but separately, as follows:

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender (about 5 minutes), then transfer the potatoes to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. 

Add the green beans in the same boiling water of the same pot and cook them until crisp-tender (about 3 minutes).

Transfer them to the same bowl of potatoes, using the slotted spoon. 

Cook the linguine pasta in the same boiling water of the same pot until “al dente”. Before draining reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid and whisk it into pesto.

Drain the linguine pasta and put it in the same bowl of potatoes and green beans, pour the pesto on it. Stir and serve.

If you like you can add some fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Delicious!