While staying at the Hotel Villa Flori, which overlooks Italy's Lake Como, I had an outstanding pasta with a chunky pesto sauce," says Patty Owens of Walnut Creek, California. "Is there any chance the chef would share the recipe?"
This pesto sauce includes walnuts, a variation on the classic recipe. To give the dish a creamy quality, add some of the pasta cooking water to the sauce.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 6 Servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Blend basil, 1/4 cup oil, pine nuts, walnuts and garlic cloves in processor until finely chopped. Add grated Parmesan cheese. With machine running, gradually blend in remaining &§ cup oil. Set pesto aside.
Step 2
Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Using 4- to 5-inch-diameter strainer, transfer beans to large bowl. Return cooking water to boil. Add white potatoes and boil until tender, about 7 minutes. Remove potatoes with same strainer and transfer to bowl with beans. Return cooking water to boil. Add fettuccine to same pot. Boil until pasta is just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Return green beans, white potatoes and cooked pasta to pot. Add pesto and toss to coat. Gradually add enough reserved cooking water to coat pasta with moist sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
