Pasta with Green Beans, Potatoes and Pesto

This Williams-Sonoma recipe comes from one of my favorite pasta cookbooks and was always a crowd pleaser with high school friends. I love pesto and if you have a food processor, it's easy to make your own.

Pasta with Green Beans, Potatoes and Pesto:

Ingredients:

For the pesto:

1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts (for this I prefer pine nuts)

2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves

2 or 3 garlic cloves

1/4 cup grated pecorino sardo or parmesan cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, or as needed

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

For Pasta:

8 new potatoes, 9 to 10 oz. total

4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 to 1 1/12 inch lengths

1 lb. fresh tagilarini or fettuccine (though we used penne, but the type of pasta you use will affect several elements of your dish)

1/4 cup grated pecorino sardo or parmesan cheese

Directions:

To make the pesto, preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast until they take on color and are fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool. Leave the oven set at 350 degrees F. IN a food processor, combine the nuts, basil and garlic. Pulse until the basil is chopped. Add the cheese and pulse to combine. With the motor running, pour in the 1/2 cup oil, a few drops at a time, until the mixture has the consistency of mayonnaise, adding more oil as needed. season with salt and pepper; set aside.

Rub the potatoes with 2 Tbs. of olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Place in a baking dish and roast, shaking the dish from time to time, until tender when pierced, about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot three-fourths full of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Scoop out with a skimmer, cool under running water and drain. reserve the cooking water.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and cut into bite-size pieces. In a large sauté pan over high heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. Add the potatoes and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Add the beans and stir until heated through, about 1 minute. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, return the large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the pasta, stir well and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite), about 2 minutes. Drain reserving a few Tbs. of cooking water. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl.

Stir the pesto and the reserved water into the vegetables in the pan (off the heat). Add the pasta and toss well. Pass the cheese at the table.

Great with a Sauvignon Blanc or a dry sparkling Prosecco depending on your tastes.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Lifestyles Series, Food & Wine Pairing, by Joyce Goldstein (Time-Life Books, 1999).