Ligurian Style: Trofie w/ Pesto, Potatoes & Green Beans

This is one of my favorite pastas. I crave it.

This is a popular dish in Genoa in the Ligurian region of Italy, where pesto is king.
I use my best Ligurian olive oil to make it authentic, and fresh trofie pasta from Italy from my Italian grocer.

Potatoes, green beans and pasta sound like a strange combination, but I promise you, once you make this, you will crave it too.

You can peel the potatoes, but I leave the skins on because I am lazy.
If you don't have homemade pesto in the freezer from last summer, then it's fine to use a store bought brand.

Pasta w/ Pesto, Potatoes & Green Beans:

1/2 lb. trofie shaped pasta (use gemelli if you can't find trofie)
1/4-1/2 cup of basil pesto (for my recipe, click here)
1/4 cup of pasta water (don't forget to save it before draining the pasta!)
8 small new potatoes, quartered and cubed (peeled or not)
1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and sliced in half on the diagonal

In a saucepan, boil your potato cubes for approx 9 minutes.
To the same pot, add the green beans and cook another 5 minutes with the potatoes.
(check to make sure the potatoes are fork tender).



Drain the beans and potatoes and add to a large bowl.

Boil the pasta as per directions and drain, saving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

Add pasta to the bowl with the vegetables.

Add pesto and thin with the pasta water to achieve a nice consistency.
Serve immediately.



I have been known to add peas to this dish too, but I don't think that is authentic!

Enjoy!