Cooking Italy: Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans

      In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.   This week's recipe was Pasta with Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans can be found on 177-178. 

      We make pasta, potatoes, and green beans a lot around here, but have never before combined them together into one dish. 

      I have never made pesto from scratch before, and I have a wonderful basil plant growing on the deck so that seemed a fine use for a bit of it.  As a rule, we are not huge fans of too much sauce...we like a little sauce, but there is a fine line around here between a little and too much, and I will say that the amount in this recipe was perfect. 

      Turns out making your own pesto is not at all complicated, with just a few ingredients, a nice recipe included in the book, and a food processor, one is pretty much set to go.  Takes only a few minutes.  Photo at left is my crazy wild basil plant that is growing on the deck this year...basil by the handfuls whenever I want it. 

 

      I liked the fact that you cooked all the ingredients separately and then combined in the end, something I have grown to appreciate with French cooking, so that was nice to find that in this recipe. 

      Was it a hit?  It was well received, and I will probably make this again from time to time.  It was a very nice choice with the menu this month. 

      If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

      Next week's recipe is La Florentine Grilled T-Bone and can be found on page 385.