Pesto Avantaggiato (Linguine with Pesto, Beans, and Potatoes)

For your Shopping Cart:

Ligurians call this variation pesto avvantaggiato—loosely translated as “pesto plus”—and it is by far the best method for serving pesto. The magic touch of this variation is cooking the green beans and potatoes in the same cooking water as the linguine or trenette. The result is quite amazing. The addition of these two vegetables makes a world of difference: The potatoes bind the whole thing together and absorb the sauce in an utterly scrumptious way; the beans add needed moisture, an extra green color, and crunchiness. This is food for the gods.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb pound green beans, trimmed, halved
• 1/2 lb small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut into quarters
• 1 lb DeLallo Linguine
• 1 cup DeLallo Pesto
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp yet tender, about 4 minutes. Using large slotted spoon, transfer beans to large bowl. Return cooking water to boil. Add the potatoes and boil until tender, about 7 minutes. Remove potatoes with same strainer and transfer to the bowl with the beans. Return your cooking water to boil. Add the linguine to the same pot. Boil until pasta is just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta, reserving 2 cups of the cooking water. Return green beans, potatoes and cooked pasta to the pot. Add pesto and toss to coat. Gradually begin adding enough reserved cooking water to coat the pasta and create a creamy sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6 Send to friend Printer-friendly version