Pasta with potatoes, green beans and pesto

A traditional Ligurian pasta with tender potatoes and green beans, tossed in a fresh basil-parsley pesto with lemon and cheese, finished with optional green olives.

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

First make the pesto: put the toasted nuts into a food processor along with the herbs, garlic, grated cheese and lemon zest. Blitz to a paste, then, with the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until you have a thick, sloppy purée. Scrape the pesto into a bowl and season with salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice. This will keep in the fridge for a few days.

Step 2

Put a very large pan of well-salted water on to boil. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into thick matchsticks (the size of thin chips). Add the potatoes and pasta to the pan and cook until the pasta is al dente – probably 10–12 minutes, which should be the right amount of time for the potatoes too. If the pasta is a type that cooks very quickly, put the potatoes in a few minutes before. (If using very freshly dug new spuds, they’ll cook quicker, 6–7 minutes, so add halfway through the pasta cooking.) In the meantime, cut the beans into lengths that roughly match the size of the pasta. Add them to the pan about 4 minutes before the end of cooking.

Step 3

Drain the pasta and vegetables, and let them steam off for a minute or two, then add the pesto and mix thoroughly but gently. Check the seasoning (it will probably benefit from a generous grinding of black pepper).

Step 4

Divide between warmed serving bowls and scatter over the green olives, if using. Grate over some cheese and trickle over a little extra virgin olive oil if you like. Have extra cheese for grating on the table.