Trenette With Pesto Genova Style Recipes

Steps:

• In 1 quart of boiling salted water place potatoes and cook until one minute shy of being done, about 6 minutes. Add the fresh pasta, return water to a boil and cook for 15 seconds or until pasta and potatoes are cooked through. Drain pasta and potatoes at once. Transfer to a warm platter and toss with pesto. Serve very hot accompanied by a bowl of grated cheese.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt it. Combine the basil, garlic, salt and cheese in a blender or food processor; pulse until roughly chopped. Add the olive oil in a steady stream, and continue to blend until the mixture is fairly creamy, adding a little more olive oil or some water if necessary. Add the pine nuts, and pulse a few times to chop them into the sauce.
• Add the potatoes to the boiling water, and stir; then add the pasta, and cook as usual, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes in all. When the pasta is about half done - the strands will bend but are not yet tender - add the string beans.
• When the pasta is done, the potatoes and beans should be tender. Drain the pasta and vegetables, toss with pesto and more salt or olive oil if you like, and serve.

Steps:

• To make the pesto: Put all of the basil, the garlic cloves, salt, and olive oil in the food-processor bowl. Process 10 to 15 seconds-stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl-to form a coarse paste.
• Dump in the pine nuts, and process another 10 seconds or more (scraping down the bowl once or twice), creating a uniformly smooth bright-green paste. Add the grated cheeses to the bowl, and pulse a few times just to blend in. The pesto should be thick yet flowing; if it's too firm, blend in olive oil, a spoonful at a time, to loosen it.
• Scrape the pesto into a small bowl or container, and pour a thin film of olive oil over the top surface to prevent it from discoloring. It can stay at room temperature for a couple of hours before being used. For longer keeping, lay plastic wrap on the surface of the pesto, seal the container, and refrigerate or freeze. Let the pesto return to room temperature before using.
• To make the pasta: Bring salted water to a boil in the large pot (at least 6 quarts, with 1 tablespoon kosher salt). Drop in the potato chunks, stir, and cook them for 10 minutes, then add the green beans. Cook the beans and potatoes for another 10 minutes and then add the pasta to the pot and cook 5 minutes, until the trenette is al dente.
• Set the large skillet over very low heat, just to warm it, or warm the serving bowl, whichever you'll use for dressing the pasta. Scrape the pesto into the pan or bowl, and loosen it with a bit of the pasta boiling water (don't cook the pesto, just warm it).
• When the vegetables are tender and the pasta is al dente, lift everything from the pot with a spider and tongs, drain briefly, and drop into the skillet or bowl. (If you prefer, drain the pasta and vegetables into a colander, being sure to reserve a cup or so of pasta cooking water before you pour it out.) Toss pasta, vegetables, and pesto together well-moisten with more pasta water if needed-then sprinkle the grated cheeses over, and toss again. Serve immediately in warm bowls.