Green Bean Pesto

inDouble Duty Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Italian Recipes, Pasta Recipes, Recipes, Sauce Recipes, Summer Recipes, Vegetable Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
  • YIELDS | 4 SERVINGS
  • PREP TIME | 5 MINS
  • COOK TIME | 15 MINS

This riff on the Italian classic is bright, velvety, and spoon-licking delicious. I like to toss it with bite-size pasta like Orecchiette pasta so the sauce fills in all the nooks and crannies.

Double Duty Recipe: Make an extra batch of the pesto and spoon over roasted veggies, chicken, or fish for a completely different meal later in the week.

Ingredients

  • 10-12 ounces green beans, washed and trimmed
  • 1 cup basil, packed
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup almonds or pine nuts, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano or Parmesan and more for serving
  • 1-2 gloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Add green beans to pot of salted, boiling water.
  2. While you wait for the water to boil, put the olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Add basil and cheese and blend again for 30 seconds.
  3. When the water is boiling, add the beans and cook for 3 minutes. Strain and immediately add the beans to the olive oil-cheese-basil mixture in the blender and blend until very smooth.
  4. Toss with your favorite bite-size pasta and shower with Pecorino Romano, Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.