Trenette al pesto, the first meal that Luca and Alberto from Disney’s Luca are served on their first night eating at Giulia and her dad’s house. The boys, being sea monsters, have no idea how to eat with their “new hands.” They dig right in and devour the entire meal. This meal intrigued me so I took to the internet to learn more about this meal. In talking with my Italian coworker and friend Daniela, I discover that she is from Genoa, the town where this dish has it’s roots. After taking some of her advise on how to make it, I took to making it within the same week. I have had many different pesto dishes before, but this Trenette al Pesto is hands down the most delicious! My boys also agree and nearly took it down with their hands just like Luca and Alberto! Haha! Enjoy!
Notes: we chose to leave out the potatoes and green beans and we used linguine so that was more accessbile than the trenette, which we would’ve had to buy on amazon.
Trenette al Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup of pine nuts
- pinch of salt
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped fine
- 1/2 pound of trenette pasta or linguine
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino-romano cheese
- For Trenette al Pesto, Genovese, with Potatoes and Green Beans
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 pound green beans, washed and ends broken off
Directions
- Put 1/2 cup of olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and a nice pinch of salt in a food processor or blender, start mixing and add the basil a few leaves at a time processing to a creamy consistency.
- Stir in the cheese by hand, mixing well. I find this achieves a much better consistency than if you blend the cheese in using the food processor or blender.
- Bring a large pot of liberally salted water to a boil. Add the trenette and cook until al dente.
- Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the pesto, turn heat on low and heat through.
- Reserve 1/4 cup of water from the pot then drain pasta and add to sauté pan with pesto, and turn the heat up to medium. Add the reserved pasta water and stir vigorously, coating the pasta completely with the sauce.
- Transfer the pasta to individual serving plates and serve immediately.
- For Trenette al Pesto, Genovese, with Potatoes and Green Beans
- Prepare the pesto as instructed in steps 1-2 above.
- Bring a large pot of liberally salted water to a boil. Cut the green beans into 1 inch pieces and add the potatoes and green beans to the boiling water. Cook until just tender, about 10 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add the trenette to the boiling water and cook until al dente.
- Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the pesto, turn heat on low and heat through.
- Reserve 1/4 cup of water from the pot then drain pasta and add to sauté pan with pesto, and turn the heat up to medium.
- Add the potatoes, green beans and the reserved pasta water and toss well, coating the pasta and vegetables completely with the sauce.
- 14.Transfer the pasta to individual serving plates and serve immediately.
