Haricots Verts (French Green Beans) are longer and skinnier than common green beans. I prefer them for their fresh and flavorful taste. Best of all they cook in a flash and do not need to be trimmed.
You can make your own basil pesto – it keeps well for a long time when frozen. Otherwise buy a good quality pesto, like the one from Trader Joe’s.
Yield: 4
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 cups haricots verts cut into 2 inches (5 cm)
- 1 lb (450 g) linguine
- 6 Tbsp homemade or good quality store bought basil pesto
- 1 cup (28 g) flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
- Pecorino Romano cheese, grated, to serve
Preparation:
Prepare a bowl with iced water and set aside.
Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add salt and the haricots verts. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove the beans from the water, using a spider skimmer. Add beans to the bowl with iced water for 1-2 minutes to arrest cooking. Drain haricots in a colander and set aside.
Return water in the saucepan to a boil. Add the linguine and cook it until “al dente”. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and keep it warm. Drain pasta in a colander. Return linguine and haricots verts to the saucepan. Mix in the basil pesto. Add some of the reserved pasta liquid, 1-2 tablespoons at a time to coat the pasta and beans with the pesto evenly. Mix in the chopped parsley gently. Warm it up briefly.
Just before serving drizzle each serving with a tablespoon of olive oil. Serve with extra Pecorino Romano at the table.
