Liguria is located on the Italian Riviera. They have crystal blue water, monumental mountains, sprawling hills, and pesto that will make you want to cry. They are the birthplace of pesto, the OG, so why would we make it any other way. The pesto is prepared in a mortar and pestle, which makes sense because the word “pesto” in Italian is derived from the verb “pestare,” meaning to pound or crush. The ingredients are busted up in the mortar until they form a paste that smells so good it should be made into a fragrance so we can all smell like pesto all the time.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make recipe for OG Fusilli Pesto with Green Beans and Potatoes.
1. Info for OG Fusilli Pesto with Green Beans and Potatoes
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 15 min
- Servings: 4
- Calories: 929.12 kcal
2. Ingredients for OG Fusilli Pesto with Green Beans and Potatoes
- 6 small potatoes
- 20 green beans
- 4 cups pasta (we use fusilli so the pesto gets stuck in the spirals)
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 cups basil leaves
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or cashews or almonds or pine nuts)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt (staples)
- olive oil (staples)
- 2 tablespoons butter (staples)
3. Directions:
- Walk down to the beach and fill a large pot with sea water, just like they do in Italy. If you do not live on the beach, just fill a large pot with water and salt heavily. Bring this to a boil.
- Quarter the potatoes, keeping all the pieces about the same size. Cut the stems off of the green beans and then cut into bite-sized pieces. Add the pasta and potatoes to the boiling, salted water.
- Grab your mortar and pestle. Toss the garlic clove into the mortar and crush it. Next add the basil leaves (save the stems for another day) and really bust them up until they form a paste. Then add sunflower seeds and continue to crush.
- The pasta and potatoes got a 5 minute head start in the boiling water. Now it’s time to toss in your green beans.
- Grab the olive oil and add a few glugs at a time to the mortar. Stir and smear to combine. Grate the parm into the mortar and stir.
- Toss your butter into a large bowl. Now strain the pasta and veg through a colander in the sink. Add half the pasta and veg to the bowl with butter. Add half the pesto to the bowl as well. Toss it up. Pour this out onto a dinner plate. Finish with a quick grate of parm and a quick drizzle of olive oil. Finito!
- Hot Tip: Save your basil stems and make a basil-infused simple syrup or a fresh basil lemonade
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