Casarecce al pesto with rocket and beans – Casarecce – hot translated as “homemade”. The small spirals come from Sicily and thanks to their curved shape they hold our homemade pesto in place. The combination with green beans, pine nuts and parmesan completes our summer pasta.
Basil pesto…
Pesto is certainly one of the staple foods in Italy and originally comes from Genoa, the capital of Liguria. There are different recipes in each region, but they all consist of basil, parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, salt and a good olive oil. In Liguria, it’s often served with linguine or trofie, but casarecce work particularly well as they absorb plenty of the tasty sauce. Sometimes, like in this recipe, the dish is cooked with beans and tomatoes, but combinations with chopped potatoes and green beans are also possible.
Feel free to make more of the pesto as it stays fresh in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Make sure, however, that the pesto is always covered with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent oxidation.
There are two ways to turn the ingredients into a bright green paste. Either all the ingredients in a food processor if you need something quick. Or, if you are not pressed for time, use a mortar and pestle to crush. This then results in a more authentic version.
cook noodles
- The first step is to have the sauce ready before the pasta goes into the water. The sauce should always wait for the pasta and not the other way around.
- We heat one liter of water per 100 g of pasta in a saucepan. These proportions, which are usually listed on the packaging, help keep the pasta from sticking together. It is then not necessary to add olive oil to the cooking water to prevent the pasta from sticking.
- When the water begins to boil, add 1 generous handful of salt, about 2 tablespoons per 500 grams of pasta.
- At this moment we add the Casarecce all at once and stir for a moment with a wooden spoon.
- Cook the Casarecce for 11 minutes to get a pasta “al dente” or just right. Once the pasta is cooked, we immediately drain it.
- In a bowl we mix the freshly made Casarecce with the pesto sauce we have prepared.
- Serve with a sprinkling of grated cheese, pecorino, or parmesan.
I am sure it will become one of your favorite Italian dishes. Enjoy your meal! ❤
If you like our Casarecce al Pesto with rocket and beans, you might also be interested in these recipes:
- oriental pasta with halloumi and fried aubergines
- Make your own coriander pesto
- Tortellonie with truffle filling on burrata cream
- Hasselback beets with coriander pesto
- more pasta recipes
Casarecce al pesto with arugula and beans
Equipment
Ingredients
- 400 G Caserecce or other noodles
- 300 G Green beans / string beans
- 2 small Bunch of basil
- 60 G pine nuts*
- 2 clove of garlic
- 50 G Parmesan* or yeast flakes if vegan
- 80 ml native olive oil*
- kosher salt*
- Pepper*
- 4 Sun-dried tomatoes*
- arugula a hand full
Instructions
- Roast the pine nuts in a pan without adding fat until golden brown.
- For the pesto, rinse the basil, shake dry and pluck the leaves from the stalks. Peel and coarsely chop the garlic.
- Blend the garlic with the olive oil, basil leaves and 2/3 of the pine nuts in a blender. Grate the Parmesan and mix into the pesto AFTER the puree. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add noodles and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Clean green beans and cut into 2 to 3 cm long pieces. After the 5 minutes cooking time, add the pasta to the pot and cook for another 6 to 7 minutes.
- Cut sun-dried tomatoes into thin strips.
- Drain pasta and beans. Mix in a bowl with the pesto, tomato strips and arugula.
- Arrange the pasta on a preheated plate, sprinkle with some grated Parmesan and the remaining pine nuts.
