The pesto is pounded in a mortar with a rotating wrist, basil in handfuls, cheese before oil, and it never touches heat; the warmth of the drained pasta is all the cooking it gets. Here, potatoes and green beans cook in the same pot, and the potato starch helps the sauce cling. Use a sweet, golden oil, since a peppery one fights the basil.
Make ahead The pesto keeps for a day in the fridge in a small jar with a film of oil over the top, which slows the browning.
Trofie al Pesto Genovese
Prep 30 min · Cook 15 min · Serves 4 · Difficulty Medium
Method
Wash the basil gently and dry it completely on a cloth; water is pesto’s first enemy, heat the second.
8 min
Pound garlic with a few grains of coarse salt in the mortar to a cream. Add pine nuts; pound to a paste.
5 min
Add the basil in handfuls with a pinch of salt, crushing against the walls with a rotating wrist rather than smashing, until the leaves release a bright green liquor.
8 min
Work in both cheeses, then the oil in a thin stream, stirring with the pestle until you have a dense, fragrant cream. (Food processor truce: pulse briefly with chilled blade and bowl.)
5 min
Boil the potatoes in well-salted water for 5 minutes; add the trofie and green beans together and cook until the pasta is al dente.
12 min
Reserve a cup of cooking water, drain, and return everything to the warm (not hot) pot off the heat.
1 min
Fold in the pesto, loosening with splashes of the starchy water until every twist is coated in pale green cream. Serve immediately.
2 min
Kitchen notes
Never let pesto meet the flame. Dress the pasta with pesto off the heat, using a little cooking water to loosen the sauce.
The germ comes out. Halve the garlic clove and remove the green germ if present.
A food processor can make the pesto too. Work briefly, stop to scrape the bowl and avoid warming the mixture.
