Trenette With Pesto Genova Style Food

TRENETTE AL PESTO

Steps:

• Put 1/2 cup of olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and a nice pinch of salt in a food processor or blender, start mixing and add the basil a few leaves at a time processing to a creamy consistency.
• Stir in the cheese by hand, mixing well. I find this achieves a much better consistency than if you blend the cheese in using the food processor or blender.
• Bring a large pot of liberally salted water to a boil. Add the trenette and cook until al dente.
• Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the pesto, turn heat on low and heat through.
• Reserve 1/4 cup of water from the pot then drain pasta and add to sauté pan with pesto, and turn the heat up to medium. Add the reserved pasta water and stir vigorously, coating the pasta completely with the sauce.
• Transfer the pasta to individual serving plates and serve immediately.

TRENETTE WITH PESTO GENOVA-STYLE

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.