Trenette With Potatoes And Pesto Food

PASTA, GREEN BEANS AND POTATOES WITH PESTO

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.

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.

TRENETTE WITH PESTO, POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS

Steps:

• Finely grind basil, oil, 6 tablespoons each Romano and Parmesan cheeses, toasted pine nuts and minced garlic in processor. Season pesto to taste with salt and pepper. (Pesto can be prepared 2 days ahead. Press plastic wrap onto surface of pesto and refrigerate.)
• Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to large bowl. Add green beans to same pot and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with potatoes. Cook pasta in same pot until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Transfer pasta to bowl with potatoes and green beans.
• Whisk reserved 1/2 cup cooking liquid into pesto. Add pesto to pasta mixture and toss thoroughly to coat. Transfer pasta to large platter. Serve, passing additional Pecorino Romano separately.