Summer Pesto with Linguine and Green Beans
You’ll be surprised at how fast and easy it is to make pesto with a mortar and pestle. And when you taste the results, you’ll understand why this is the preferred method. But keep in mind that delicious pesto requires fresh, fragrant basil, so make sure you start with the best basil you can find, or even better, picked from your garden. It’s easy to toast pinenuts in a small frypan on top of the stove. It only takes a couple of minutes, but watch carefully and shake the pan often to make sure the they don’t burn or get too dark.
Because pesto originates on the Ligurian coast of Italy, we often serve it with wines that come from that or an adjacent region. Among whites, Arneis, Gavi or Pinot Grigio make an excellent choice for this plate; among reds, we like a young Dolcetto or Chianti (made from the Sangiovese grape). I like to accompany pesto with a crusty baguette and a platter of sliced heirloom tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs.
Photography by Jim White
Wash basil: place in large bowl of cold water. Remove and discard stems and place leaves in salad spinner. Spin to remove as much moisture as possible. Place basil on linen or flour sack kitchen towel and wrap loosely. Refrigerate for about 5 or 10 minutes or while preparing the other ingredients.
To make pesto: Place 1 teaspoon of coarse salt and about 6 basil leaves in a mortar and crush with the pestle. Add the garlic and then more basil leaves, a few at a time, pulverizing one batch before adding the next. Add pinenuts and crush until mixture is smooth. Remove to a mixing bowl and fold in cheese. Add olive oil and mix with a wooden spoon until mixture is thick and has a creamy consistency. Taste and adjust salt and cheese if necessary. Set aside.
In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until tender but firm. About 1 to 2 minutes before pasta is finished cooking, add green beans and let them cook along with the pasta. Drain well, reserving about a cup of the pasta cooking water, and transfer pasta and beans to large pasta bowl. Add about 1 or 2 teaspoons of the reserved cooking water to the pesto and mix lightly just to “loosen” the pesto a bit.
Add pesto to pasta and mix well, until the pasta is evenly coated (this may take a minute or two). If necessary, add a little of the reserved pasta water to any little “clumps” of pesto to help loosen them. Taste pasta and add more salt or cheese if desired. Or if mixture seems dry, add a few more drops of the pasta water. Serve immediately. Pass around a wedge of Pecorino Romano cheese and a hand grater.
Carol White
Carol White is a Napa Valley-based food writer and editor who has passionately devoted herself to the study of food and cooking. She was previously based in Toronto, where she worked as a food editor for one of Canada’s most popular magazines, Canadian Living, and edited a weekly food column for Canada’s largest newspaper, The Toronto Star. Carol is also the editor of the highly successful President’s Choice Cookbook and President’s Choice Barbecue Cookbook. Over the years, Carol has evolved a style of cooking that friends call “Cuisine Carolaise.” While not French, per se, Cuisine Carolaise can be described as rustic, clean, rich in flavor and based on the freshest, best-quality ingredients available.