Yep, pasta with potatoes. Make no mistake: this is one carb-o-licious meal. I first tried pasta with pesto, potatoes, and green beans out during marathon training, and I’ve loved it ever since. It’s not just for carb-loading, though — it’s a great meal in its own right!
Yes, please.
I certainly wasn’t training for anything when we made this last week, but we got a bunch of basil in the CSA box, and that means pesto! We got another bunch this week, so I’ll be trying out a new use for pesto this evening. Stay tuned for the report, and try this one out in the meantime.
Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans
Original recipe from No Meat Athlete, with my modifications
1 large bunch of basil
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts, toasted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus additional for serving
1 lb whole wheat pasta
5-7 medium-small boiling potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into one-inch lengths
Combine the basil, garlic, nuts, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until it forms a coarse paste. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil and let it process until the mixture is relatively smooth. Add the grated cheese and process once more to incorporate.
Place the potatoes in a large pasta pot and fill with as much water as you will need to make the pasta. Bring to a boil and salt the water. After 8-10 minutes, when the potatoes are close to being tender, add the green beans and cook for a couple more minutes. When the green beans and potatoes are tender, remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer to a separate bowl. Cover with foil to keep warm. Put the pasta in the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.
Add the pasta to the bowl with the potatoes and green beans, and toss with the pesto to coat. Serve with additional parmesan cheese.
That looks SO good. And if I mention that it’s pasta, but not that it’s whole wheat, my little carbofiles will fall right in line!
You know, I love whole wheat pasta because I can hardly tell the difference, but some people really dislike it. I actually like the taste a bit better than white pasta. Spelt pasta is always a healthier option too, but I bet they’ll never know!
This looks so good. It’s funny you posted this today–I was looking at Mark Bittman’s whole wheat pasta and potato recipe yesterday, but your version sounds *so* much better. I can’t wait to try it the night before a long-run sometime soon
It’ll be perfect for that! Hope you enjoy it!
This looks like the ultimate comfort food! You can never have too many carbs!
I am a bit of a carb fiend, so I tend to agree! At least the pesto and parmesan give it a little protein punch.
We made it for dinner tonight and it was super tasty!! I roasted the potatoes first instead of steaming them and it added just a bit of extra yumminess not to mention a nice appetizer to munch on them first before they went into the pesto.
That is such a great idea! Definitely going to try it next time we have this.
This looks and sounds so good! I’ve never tried pasta and potatoes before but the idea fascinates me. Same with potatoes and pizza. I need to try this soon!
I love them both.
Hope you enjoy!