Pesto pasta

Pistachio pesto pasta salad

WITH TOMATOES, BEANS & GREENS

Pesto pasta

30 mins

Not Too Tricky

serves 2

About the recipe

Making pesto from scratch is a great skill to master as it goes well with so many different dishes, from pasta and soup to grilled and roasted vegetables. It's a real winner!


nutrition per serving

624

Calories


23.8g

Fat


5g

Saturates


7.7g

Sugars


0.9g

Salt


26.8g

Protein


79.6g

Carbs


10.7g

Fibre


of an adult’s reference intake


Ingredients

1 clove of garlic

1 bunch of fresh basil (30g)

20g shelled unsalted pistachios

extra virgin olive oil

20g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese

1 lemon

150g farfalle or other dried pasta

1 x 400g tin of butter beans

olive oil

100g ripe cherry tomatoes

120g fine green beans

100g baby spinach

Top Tip

The mighty butter bean is a fantastic source of protein, B vitamins, iron and fibre.

Method

  1. For the pesto, peel the garlic clove and place just under half into a pestle and mortar. Pick in the basil leaves, reserving a few for garnish, then bash to a paste.
  2. Add the pistachios and bash again until fairly fine, then muddle in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
  3. Finely grate in most of the Parmesan and add a squeeze of lemon juice, then season with sea salt and black pepper. Have a taste and tweak with a little extra lemon juice, if needed.
  4. Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.
  5. Meanwhile, place a large frying pan on a medium heat. Drain and quickly rinse the butter beans, shaking off any excess water, then add to the dry pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly golden and starting to pop.
  6. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the popped beans and toss gently. Finely chop and add the remaining garlic, then cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the garlic is lightly golden.
  7. Halve the tomatoes, then add to the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until slightly softened, stirring occasionally, while you trim the green beans.
  8. Add the green beans to the pasta pan for the final 4 minutes, and the spinach for the last 30 seconds.
  9. Drain the pasta and green veg, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water, then tip back into the pan. Stir in the pesto, loosening with a little cooking water, if needed.
  10. Stir through the crispy beans and tomatoes, then scatter over the reserved basil leaves. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and finish with a fine grating of the remaining Parmesan. Delicious eaten straight away, or leave to cool and box up ready for lunch.

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