Genoese Trofie with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

When it comes to eating well in Italy, Liguria shines. The Italian Riviera is the birthplace of focaccia, pesto, and ravioli. Two summers ago Andrea, the boys and I visited Genoa where we ate focaccia 3-5 times a day and brought home bottles of Genoese pesto. One of those warm summer nights we dinned al fresco at a restaurant in the heart of Genoa where I ordered the city's traditional trofie alla genovese, which tasted like a dream. Like most Italian dishes, it's secret is in using few but fresh ingredients and letting the combination of flavors tickle the taste buds. 

Genoese Trofie with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

Trofie alla genovese

{Nonna's handwritten recipe.}

Ingredients:

Below I have written out the classic proportions, however this recipe is hard to mess up and you can really just add the quantity of potatoes and green beans you'd like. 

17 ounces of trofie liguri (500 grams)  

2 large potatoes

2 cups fresh green beans cut into pieces 1-1.5 inches long (200 grams)

Pesto

Obviously homemade pesto tastes best, but for convenience any fresh pesto will work. My absolute favorite brand for pesto (and pizza!) is Buitoni. Click here and at the bottom of the page enter in your zip code and the website will generate a list of the closest stores the sell Buitoni pesto. 

{I'm saving the Genoese pesto recipe for another day, but these basil leaves are too pretty not to post!}

Instructions:

Below I've described one of the classic ways of cooking this Genoese dish. Italians like to cook the vegetables and the pasta in the same water so the pasta will have more flavor. (For example, nonna's broccoli pasta isn't nearly as good if the broccoli and pasta are boiled in separate cooking water.) However, being an amateur cook myself, I sometimes have difficulty getting the potatoes, green beans, and pasta all perfectly al dente when they are cooking in the same pot. If you need to, you can boil each ingredient separately and then mix them together with pesto...just don't let nonna find out!

1. Bring a lot of salted water to boil in a large pot. 

2. While waiting for the water the boil, peel and dice the potatoes and cut the green beans into pieces 1-1.5 inches long. 

3. Once the water has come to a rolling boil, drop in the potato chunks and cook for ten minutes, then add the green beans. 

4. Cook the green beans and potatoes together for another five to seven minutes and then add the trofie pasta and cook for five minutes, or until al dente. 

5. When the vegetables are tender and the pasta is cooked, lift everything from the pot using a skimming ladle or a slotted spoon (this will keep the potatoes from breaking apart under the weight of the pasta and water). 

6. Toss the pasta and vegetables together with pesto and add a bit of cooking water to create a creamier sauce. Serve immediately with grated parmesan cheese on top.