Pasta Potato And Green Bean Tian With Basil Cream And Parmesan Recipes

Steps:

• Make pesto: In the bowl of food processor, add basil, pine nuts, salt and garlic. Pulse until mixture is coarse and grainy. With the motor running, add oil in slow, steady stream. Add cheese; process just enough to mix well. If sauce is too dry, add a little more oil. Taste; add more cheese or salt, if desired.
• Bring 6 quarts water to rolling boil. Add at least 2 tablespoons salt and the potato slices. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until potatoes have started to soften but are not cooked through. Add green beans, and continue boiling another 5 minutes.
• Add pasta, and stir. Start testing pasta at 5 minutes. When it is done, and when potatoes and beans are tender, drain and turn pasta and vegetables immediately into preheated bowl. Add pesto, and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water, add the noodles and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, place the basil and 3/4 cup of olive oil in a food processor and process until combined. Add the cream, 3 teaspoons of salt and pepper and process until smooth. Drain the pasta, rinse and drain well. Place in a large bowl, add the basil cream and toss well. Set aside.
• Blanch the green beans in boiling water until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Drain well. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Set aside. Blanch the potato slices in boiling water until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain well. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 1/3 of the noodle mixture in the bottom of a 12-by-3 1/2-inch round clay casserole dish. Top with 1/2 of the green beans and then 1/2 of the potatoes. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the pine nuts and 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat the layers. Top with the remaining noodles, then the nuts and Parmesan. (The tian can be prepared a few hours ahead up to this point; bring to room temperature before baking.) Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 5 mins. Add the pasta and cook following pack instructions. Add the green beans 3 mins before the end.
• Meanwhile, in a mini chopper or small food processor, blitz the pesto ingredients until roughly chopped.
• When the pasta is cooked, drain and tip back into the pan. Toss through the pesto and crème fraîche and divide into bowls. Serve with shaved Parmesan on top.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a boil; drop in the green beans and return to a boil. Cook uncovered until the beans are bright green and barely tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat; whisk the cream, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, and nutmeg into the melted butter. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Gently stir the beans into the mixture to coat; season with salt and pepper. Return to a simmer, transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese to serve.

Steps:

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions. In a small custard cup, combine the oil and lemon juice. Microwave on high 20 seconds. Stir in the basil, salt and pepper. Drain spaghetti and place in a serving bowl. Add basil mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Steps:

• KIDS: the writing in bold is for you. GROWN-UPS: the rest is for you. Pick the basil for the pesto. Get your child to pick the basil leaves off the stalks. Ask them to look at and smell the leaves as you tell them the name of the herb until they remember it - try to do this with all herbs when you can.
• Make the pesto. Toast the pine nuts in a pan over a low heat. A child of seven years plus can stir the nuts in the pan. Tip into a mini chopper (or use a pestle and mortar) with the basil, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. Blitz or pound into a green sauce, then set aside.
• Chop up the beans. Using a child-friendly knife, get children from the age of five to chop the green beans into shorter lengths, and quarter the potatoes. Younger children can snap the beans into short lengths while you prepare the potatoes.
• Cook the vegetables and pasta. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the potatoes and boil for 3 mins. Remove from the heat and ask the child to tip in the pasta and give it a stir. Put the pan back on the heat, boil the pasta for 5 mins, add the beans and cook for a final 3 mins.
• Mix everything together. Drain everything well and tip into a bowl. Spoon most of the pesto into the pasta and stir everything together to coat. Bring the large bowl of pasta to the table and serve with extra parmesan, more basil and remaining pesto, if you like.