Broccoli is probably my favorite green vegetable and comes home with me every week, second only to greens for salad, The versatility of this beautiful, anti-oxidant super healthy vegetable is unsurpassed for many reasons.

Broccoli is the star here, but there are handfuls of basil and fresh spinach, which, of course, makes me grin from ear to ear.

I set out to show you a way to love vegetables, and while we are eating them here at home, I’m not reporting them back to you on a frequent enough basis. But, I guarantee you that if you like broccoli, you will love this soup, and if you don’t like broccoli, maybe you just haven’t had it prepared properly.

If the only kind of broccoli soup you’ve experienced is that thick, gooey broccoli cheese soup that restaurants purchase in large plastic buckets, then you haven’t had good broccoli soup.

Broccoli Comes to America Via Italy

My love affair with broccoli is probably genetic. Did you know that it was the Italians who brought this beautiful cruciferous to America? The D’Arrigo Brothers weren’t the first to plant it, but they popularized broccoli in the 1920’s, first in San Jose, California, then in Boston, under the name Andy Boy.

Broccoli was meant to be married with olive oil, salt and lemon, served at room temperature, after being cooked quickly so that it would remain bright green, or placed inside a frittata, or tossed with pasta. That is how I remember broccoli.

Broccoli Basil Soup Ingredients

• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Basil
• Olive Oil
• Lemon
• Organic Chicken Broth (or broccoli broth)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Pine Nuts (optional pistachios or sliced almonds)

If broccoli is cooked too long, it will release a sulfur smell that makes it unappetizing. After being assaulted with overcooked broccoli that stuffed into too many casseroles, mashed beyond identity, it’s no wonder people sometimes mistake broccoli for a vegetable they don’t like.

This soup just might turn a hater around.

Broccoli Basil Soup, Clean Eating, Paleo

This soup can be made with organic chicken broth or it can be made with the broccoli water it is cooked in. I’ve done it both ways. I used handfuls of basil and spinach, olive oil, lemon and pecorino romano cheese. This really gives it the Italian flavors I was looking for and feels heartier than it really is.

By this time the broccoli was cooked and ready to drain. I kept the broccoili water and began to blend about 1 cup of water to 2 cups of broccoli to this mixture. You can use a Vitamix, blender, or immersion blender. Add a few toasted pine nuts or almonds for garnish.

You can use Frozen Broccoli

Some people enjoy a soup that you can drink. Sometimes I do too, but sometimes I want more tooth to my soup. I only blended it to a point where you can still have texture. For me this is like porridge and it’s just right.

Taste along the way, and feel free to add your own touch to your broccoli basil soup. I drizzled olive oil into the soup and placed a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.

More Soup Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Asparagus Detox Soup

Golden Cauliflower Soup

Cheap Hearty Soups

Homemade Chicken Broth

Tomato Bisque Soup

Spring Pea Soup

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Broccoli Basil Soup

This version of broccoli soup is extra healthy, with added spinach, garlic, olive oil and lemon.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 6 large broccoli flowers See Instructions for either fresh or frozen
• juice of half lemon
• 1 large pot of boiling water with sea salt
• 3 handfuls fresh spinach leaves washed
• 1 handful basil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and some for drizzling into soup
• 1/2 cup pecorino romano grated
• 1/4 cup pine nuts optional (can use Pistachios or toasted almonds)
• olive oil for finishing off
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth (optional) You may use the broccoli broth.

Instructions

Using Fresh Broccoli

• Cut about 2 inches of stems off the broccoli and throw in a large pot of boiling water, with sea salt. Use a lot of water so there is so much heat that the broccoli will cook very quickly.
• Once broccoli is cooked, drain in colander. Save the broth or use added chicken broth.
• You can use frozen broccoli. Use chicken broth for broth.
• Squeeze lemon all over the broccoli.
• (Should be able to put a fork into easily enough, but don’t overcook)
• Put the broccoli in the Vitamix or blender with spinach, olive oil, basil, salt and pepper.
• Blend to your liking. I don't puree, but blend enough to have some heft remain I in the soup. Taste test to get the soup the way you like it.
• Add the broth or water 1/2 cup at a time, so as not to make too watery.
• Taste for seasoning.
• You may want to add more lemon, cheese, etc.
• Finish off with drizzle of olive oil, toasted pine nuts.

Notes

Buy very green dense broccoli. Use a very good cheese of choice.
You will be able to taste everything, so be sure you use FRESH spinach, FRESH garlic and very good extra virgin olive oil.

The post Broccoli Basil Soup with Pecorino and Pine Nuts appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Italian Potato Salad is a dish that showed up at every picnic and summer holiday when I was growing up. It’s not complicated. It’s not dangerous in the heat. It’s tasty and almost everyone loves it. Back then, my family didn’t make pesto. They simply used olive oil, oregano, vinegar, salt and pepper. That’s not a bad dish, but this is just a little more special.

This will take the place of that mushy potato salad that curdles and worries us at outdoor gatherings.

I made Italian Potato Salad with Pesto for our Easter picnic at the farm, with no worries about spoiling or mayonnaise. We took the leftovers home and we ate on those potatoes for the next few days. They can be fried for omelettes, frittatas etc. They can be heated and served warm.

Italian Potato Salad with Authentic Pesto Recipe is a Pot Luck Party Recipe

This is the dish that is okay to sit out for a long time. It’s served at room temperature, and I guarantee will go fast!

The beauty of this dish is that you do not need to peel the potatoes. It’s a simple dish that adds a lot of bulk, color, texture to a table with very little effort.

Pesto is so easy to make. The store bought pestos don’t have the same fresh taste and are too often too garlicky and not in a good way. Pine nuts are expensive, so I don’t use them as much, but I do miss them.  Walnuts are a great substitute, and you don’t need too many of them.

Truthfully, in this recipe, you can skip the nuts if you want. Flavor is what you’re looking for and the Pecorino Romano will do its job. I go back and forth about what cheese to use for pesto. Pecorino Romano or Parmigiana Reggiano?

As long as you have an authentic cheese from Italy, use either or a combination. We prefer to use both, but lean towards the pecorino if just using one. It’s the saltiness we love so much. (Costco sells both Pecorino and Parmigiano Romano in nice big pieces at a reasonable price. Never buy pre-grated cheese. There are too many reasons to go into, but the flavor, quality and quantity will be diminished.

Marcella Hazan changed my outlook about pesto when she taught me two things from her legendary book, The Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking.  (affiliate)

She adds  butter at the end, which  makes the pesto creamy, and she mixes the cheese in by hand, even if using a food processor. Those two rules for an authentic  pesto have stayed with me for years.

Also, it’s important to reserve some starchy water (it can be pasta water or potato water) to add into the pesto, so its not so oil heavy.

This is a room temperature Italian potato salad.

The biggest mistake you could make would be to refrigerate the potatoes, because that will change their texture and pesto is not good cold.  Make these the day of your event and leave them out. Once the day is over and you must refrigerate, then I recommend eating them heated. You can even heat and cool off a little.

I like to serve this with a side of green beans made the same way, as they just go together so well. If it’s tomato season, add some fresh tomatoes for an Italian trio.

You might also like this pesto recipe made with all the herbs from my garden.

More Italian Food Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Pesto Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Italian Potato Salad with Pesto

Boiled Potatoes with a Pesto, served at room temperature makes the most delicious Italian Potato Salad.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 pound red potatoes
• 1 cup Basil Pesto
• !Basil Pesto Recipe
• 2 cups tightly packed fresh picked basil leaves
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2-4 tablespoons starchy water from boiled potatoes
• 3 tablespoon pine nuts or roasted salted pistachios
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped before processing
• 1 teaspoon salt
• For completion by hand
• ½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoon freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
• 3 tablespoon butter optional

Instructions

• Scrub the potatoes clean. Remove any parts of skin that you would not want to eat.
• Cut in large bite sized pieces. If small, cut in half only.
• Put in large pot with cold water 2 inches above potatoes.
• Bring to boil. Turn down to a simmer, until the potatoes are fork tender.
• Make Pesto
• Wash basil and pat with paper towels. Process garlic, pine nuts (or walnuts), basil, olive oil for processor until you have a creamy consistency. At this point add in some hot starchy water, a tablespoon at a time to thin down just a bit.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients by hand, first adding in all cheese until it is really smooth. Then add butter in at the end. You can choose to skip the butter if you want to.
• Toss potatoes with pesto while they are still warm.

The post Authentic Pesto Recipe for Italian Potato Salad and More appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I’m coming here at the last minute to offer a gluten free stuffing that I’m proud of. First of all, I started with sage biscuits made with a combination of corn meal and gluten free flour. The biscuits are stand alone. You can make them and stop. They will be so good for a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce. My unique Roast Turkey recipe can be found here.

However, you might be craving some old fashioned stuffing, because it’s what you grew up with. This has the taste and some texture of corn bread, but the moistness of old fashioned stuffing. I added in some Italian sausage and pine nuts for interest and added flavor. I wanted to also add in golden raisins but didn’t have any. I think that would work well.

Make Gluten Free Cornbread Biscuit Stuffing from Sage Cornbread Biscuits

You probably should start the day before making the biscuits. I made one batch of 12 biscuits the night before. I crumbled them up into chunky pieces and let them sit overnight in the oven after oven cooled down.

I took inspiration for this gluten free cornbread biscuit stuffing from this sausage apple stuffing,  but to give texture to gluten free biscuits I added corn meal.  The Italian sausage makes for a good bite, but you could leave this out, or you could add in some shredded chicken or shredded turkey in a good use of left overs.

Just to let you know I’ve been making some excellent gluten free biscuits and getting good feedback. Here is my fluffy gluten free biscuit and here is my newest gluten free sweet potato biscuit.

If You Need a Grain Free Stuffing that is paleo, keto friendly, I have you covered

Grain Free Stuffing

50 of My Best Thanksgiving Recipes Here

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Corn Bread Biscuit Stuffing, Gluten Free

Gluten free corn bread sausage sage biscuit stuffing, made from cornbread biscuits.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Corn Bread Sage Biscuits see separate recipe below
• 1 pound loose Italian sausage
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 cups celery diced
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon dried sage or 3 tablespoons fresh sage
• 4 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 2 cups chicken broth heated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup pine nuts optional
• 2 tablespoons golden raisins optional

Instructions

• Make gluten free biscuits. Crumble into bite sized pieces. Allow to sit overnight. You can also speed this process by putting the crumbled pieces into a low oven of 300 degrees for a few minutes.
• Allow to cool.
• Crumble and cook sausage in a medium frying pan. Drain. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a dutch oven or frying pan.
• Add onions, celery and cook until softened.
• Beat eggs and add to bread. Mix.
• Add sausage into bread.
• Add herbs.
• Add bread stuffing in dutch oven or frying pan with celery and onions.
• Heat broth, but allow to cool to warm.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Refrigerate overnight or for several hours, if you have time.
• Take out an hour in advance before baking or add more baking time.
• Put into a baking dish or 10 inch cast iron frying pan.
• Bake for 25-35 minutes at 375.

Notes

Notes: Prep time means active prep time.

Here is the Gluten Free Biscuit Recipe

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Gluten Free Sage Corn Bread Biscuits

Corn bread biscuits with fresh sage.

Course Biscuits

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 cup gluten free flour order here
• 1 cup gluten free yellow corn meal order here
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 6 tablespoons butter cut into small cubes
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Tools Needed
• Biscuit Cutter order here
• Whisk order here
• Measuring Cups order here

Instructions

• Chill butter in freezer for 15 minutes.
• Mix together, corn meal, flour, salt, baking powder, sage, black pepper.
• Add in cold butter, using pastry cutter or hands.
• Add egg to buttermilk.
• Add this to the dry ingredients.
• Stir with a wooden spoon to bring together.
• Pat into a round disc.
• Cut or drop biscuits. It doesn’t matter how pretty they are; you’re going to crumble them later.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.

The post Gluten Free Cornbread Sausage Biscuit Stuffing Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Today is National Kale Day! Yes, I have another kale recipe, a kale pesto recipe to be exact, because my basil is all gone, but the farm is in full supply of kale, and at 81 degrees in October, I still have a ton of parsley.

The usual ingredients will show up, olive oil, pecorino cheese, garlic, and pinenuts. I’m adding lemon because kale needs acid and cracked red pepper.

One of my recipes will be in this free on-line kale cookbook today.

This is the easiest kale pesto recipe to make except for one thing. Do take out those nasty little ribs between the leaves. I prefer the lacinato or Tuscan but today, the farm gave me curly kale and that’s okay, as it’s getting all chopped up.

Serve on spaghetti, toast bread, crackers, atop potatoes, chicken, fish, and tacos. It’s your call. We are celebrating National Kale Day with orecchiete pasta and this kale pesto recipe.

In Celebration of National Kale Day, here are a Few of My Favorite Ways to Eat Kale plus a Kale Pesto Recipe

Kale Winter Salad and Why You Should Eat Kale

Italian Beef Stew with Kale

Melted Tuscan Kale – This is popular and that surprises me. I use this with my Paleo Meatballs for full on grain free day.

How to Freeze Kale

Kale in Chicken Soup – Add kale to any kind of chicken soup, bean soup, vegetable. Wait till you see the cauliflower sausage soup that’s coming.

Kale Italian Ground Beef Stir Fry with pancetta, peas.  Sounds like a common dish. It is; but it’s a healthy dish and you’ll want to lick the pan.

Tuscan Kale Salad – This is a big favorite out in restaurants right now. Almonds, lemon, raisins, garlic, olive oil.

Kale Salad with Apples with Maple Vinaigrette A recent food blogger said, “this is the best kale salad of my life.” I said, “I know.” Sweet potatoes are roasted with olive oil and a pinch of cayenne first.

Kale Biscuits with Bacon & Blue Cheese

Sauteed Kale with Poached Eggs

Kale Olive Frittata

Crispy Kale on Salmon

Kale Risotto

Kale Spinach Smoothie

More Pesto Recipes

Basil Pesto

Walnut Garden Pesto

Happy Healthy Kale Day. Follow me on Instagram. I’d love to connect there. My feed is at the bottom of the post.

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Kale Pesto Recipe

A lemony Kale pesto recipe, great for pasta, crostini or appetizer

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 8 cups kale ribs removed, chopped
• 2/3 cups olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts
• lemon sea salt or regular sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/3 cup pecorino cheese

Instructions

• Put kale, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts in food process.
• Process until kale becomes the right consistency. Add more olive oil if you need to.
• By hand, add in cheese, salt, pepper, cracked red pepper.
• Kale can be bitter. Add in a little bit of pasta water if the pesto seems dry, a tablespoon at a time.
• The crushed red pepper helps to offset the bitterness.
• Once you toss the pesto with the pasta, it will balances out in flavor.

Notes

Serve with your favorite pasta.

The post A Kale Pesto Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Faith Gorsky publishes a beautiful blog , an Edible Mosaic which can be found on Barnes & Noble  and Amazon under the same name.

When she asked me to participate in a her book launch party, I had no hesitation. She chose an easy, straightforward recipe, that reflects her approachable, middle eastern food viewpoint, extolling flavor  and texture by use of aromatic basmati rice, golden raisins, pine nuts, and the much loved saffron.

Faith learned middle eastern cooking from her mother in law, when she lived in the middle east for six months. She adapted those recipes by making them more approachable for the home cook.  An Edible Mosaic has over 100 Middle Eastern recipes, with a focus mainly on dishes from the Levant, but also a few recipes from other areas of the Middle East. It’s always a thrill to see another blogger launch a cookbook with recipes true to her heart and spirit, and I am especially delighted to see another blogger friend of mine, Lorraine Elliot, write the forward.

This picture is from the cookbook, and used with permission, as I wanted to show you what it looked like using white basmati rice, since I used brown basmati rice.

As far as the recipe goes, I used brown basmati rice instead of white basmati rice and had to make changes to the recipe, as brown rice needs more water and a longer cooking time. If you use white basmati rice, the water is only 1 1/2 cups and the cooking time before allowing to rest is 10 minutes. It will be wonderful either way.

It was flavorful, with lots of different textures, as the chewy basmati rice, the golden raisins, the flavor and crunch of the pine nuts and, of course, the saffron all came together to make rice dish exciting. The only thing I would change for the next time is using less saffron. The pine nuts delivered such intense flavor that less saffron might have been better.

Book Party Launch Giveaway. Head over to the launch party, as Faith is giving away over $1300 of stuff.

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Faith's Saffron Rice

A recipe from Faith Gorsky's cookbook, An Edible Mosaic, this basmati rice and saffron dish is approachable, and flavorful. Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Faith Gorsky

Ingredients

• 1½ cups 325 g basmati rice, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1 onion finely diced
• 4 tablespoons sultanas golden raisins
• 3 cups 425 ml boiling water
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon saffron threads or ½ teaspoon turmeric

Instructions

• Soak the rice in tepid water for 10 minutes; drain. While the rice is soaking, put half a kettle of water on to boil.
• Add the oil to a medium, thick-bottomed lidded saucepan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer the pine nuts to a small bowl and set aside.
• Add the onion to the saucepan you cooked the pine nuts in, and cook until softened and just starting to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rice and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the sultanas, boiling water, salt, and saffron (or turmeric), turn the heat up to high, and bring it to a rolling boil.
• Give the rice a stir, then cover the saucepan, turn the heat down to very low, and cook until tender, about 30-40 minutes (do not open the lid during this time). Turn the heat off and let the rice sit (covered) 15 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
• Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the toasted pine nuts on top; serve.
• OPTIONAL Add two pods of cardamom, two whole cloves, and one 2-inch (5 cm) piece of cinnamon stick at the same time that you add the rice.
• Note: The original recipe called for cooking 10 minutes before turning stove off. I needed to cook for 20 minutes as I used basmati brown rice.

The post Faith’s Saffron Rice and Edible Mosaic Cookbook Launch appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I have made cornbread six times in the last two weeks and I thought I was going to say “this is my last corn bread for a while” But, I know it’s not. I made two cornbread pans with an enriched cornmeal, and then I purchased corn meal from the guy at the farmer’s market that ground it himself. White, Yellow and Blue. And, I was driven to dig into cornbread, trying to figure out why my husband’s grandmother, aptly called Mema (pronounced meemaw), would eat corn bread every night for dinner, made in a cast iron skillet, inside a wood burning stove. And, D.C. said it tasted just as homey and good as it sounds.

The first answer, of course, was that they grew their own corn. But, I think the second answer would be a corn bread addiction. I never made corn bread in my life, but one slice was leading to the next slice to the next pan. Perhaps, it’s the sweetness of the corn, although in true East Tennessee tradition, I barely added sugar. Perhaps it’s the texture, chewy, crispy bottom, moist and crumbly on the inside. And, there is a third reason…cultural pride of cornbread tradition. And, I like that. The Italians have their food pride in every region, so I respect and appreciate the Tennessee pride in good corn bread.

And, then I discovered there is a National Cornbread Festival in South. Pittsburg, Tennessee (near Chattanooga) in April. Well, you just bet that I have marked my calendar for this. They even have a national cornbread theme song. They sing about pinto beans, turnip greens, corn bread, clowns, puppeteers, a 5K corn bread run, music, all happening April 24-25.

As I looked through the winning recipes, I realized just how corn bread boring I am. Last year’s number winner won with buffalo chicken cornbread and blue cheese salad, while I’m still trying to get just good old-fashioned corn bread perfected. And, to mildly exciting, here is blue cornbread with pine nuts. The texture is perfect, and you can see the bottom browned and crispy/chewy. I used a mixture of buttermilk and sour cream because it was what I had available.

This time I made it in a rectangular stone baking sheet, which makes nice small squares. Blue corn meal is a bit sweeter than regular, and in the Native American culture, thought to to mean long life. Blue corn meal is often prepared with pine nuts. Instead of using a little sugar, I used some raw agave nectar, but not too much, as this shouldn’t be a really sweet bread. From this recipe, one could make croutons for a bean soup, or even prepare a corn bread dressing.

Natasha of 5 Star Foodie challenged her readers to prepare cornbread this month, using either traditional or innovative recipes, and this is my entry for her 5 Star Makeover.

Traditional Southern, Buttermilk Cornbread, recipe found here.

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Blue Corn Bread with Pine Nuts

3 tablespoons canola oil 3 cups blue cornmeal 2 tablespoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup sour cream (or a second cup of buttermilk) 1/2 cup milk 2 eggs 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons raw agave nectar 1/2 cup lightly toasted pine nuts (optional)

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 cups blue cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup sour cream or a second cup of buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons raw agave nectar or sugar
• 1/2 cup lightly toasted pine nuts optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425. Put rectangular stone pan (or 10” cast iron) pan into oven with oil. As soon as oven is heated, pour any excess oil into batter below. Pour batter into pan and bake for 15 -20 minutes.
• Mix dry ingredients together.
• Mix eggs, buttermilk, sour cream and agave necar. Add dry to dry ingredients.
• If using rectangular baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes.
• If using cast iron pan, bake for 20 minutes.

The post Blue Corn Bread with Pine Nuts appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Spaghetti and Pesto, Green Beans and  Potatoes is one of my favorite pesto pasta dishes.

Pesto comes from GENOVA or Genoa, located in the region of Liguria. Pesto is a combination of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, parmigiano-reggiano and pecorino cheeses.

Pesto has a deep meaning for us as we make it for every special occasion. It’s become the go to “party” favorite, taking us through every type of celebration, including baby showers, women’s luncheons, anniversaries, birthdays and recently July 4th.

I first stumbled upon and prepared pesto pasta with green beans and potatoes long ago first discovering it in Bon Appetite. The combination of potatoes and pasta intrigued me then and it does now. It almost seems out of sorts to combine two starches, but once you experience the taste and textures, you’ll come to see how ingenious this dish is.

Marcella adds softened butter to the end of her pesto, and although I was reluctant to use butter at first, now I can’t think of leaving it out. It brings a creaminess that makes the sauce much more elegant than rustic.

I whirled the pesto to a very smooth consistency, but you can decide the texture you desire. There are many recipes and rules for pesto, but I think the texture and consistency needs to compliment the dish.   Some Italian cooks are insistent that you cannot use a food processor as it will burn the basil, and they stick with the original method of pestle and mortar. Marcella offers both recipes in her book.

Spaghetti with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans is a Genovese Dish

Pesto in the the true Italian tradition is light on the garlic, relying mainly on the taste of the basil, and the bite of the very good cheeses. If you want to cook the most delicious Italian cuisine, you must learn to edit the garlic in such a way that it would surely be missed if absent, yet it’s not the dominant flavor.

This is great for a make ahead dinner for guests. Prepare the potatoes, green beans, and pesto ahead of time. Then once guests have arrived, you can cook the pasta, and assemble, serving immediately. In the dish below, however, which was taken to a July 4th celebration, it was made ahead and served at room temperature.

Try this dish as is, and then the next time, feel free to add in your own choices of veggies…broccoli, peas, asparagus are all good choices. We usually have it with seafood (shrimps and scallops) but today, I am preparing it just a bit differently (with a bit of butter) as Marcella suggests and you can find that recipe here.

Pesto can be frozen
If you can grow your own basil as we do, you’ll see it will return far more basil than you can eat in one season. Leave out the cheese and freeze the pesto in ice cube trays. Once frozen, put in plastic bags and thaw as needed.

Kids Love Pesto, Flavorful Foods and Helping in the Kitchen
This is a winner with toddlers. Kids love flavor, texture and feeding themselves adult-sized bites. Make it with a large size penne that they can eat with their hands or stab easily with a fork. It’s also a great way to introduce them to savory, flavorful food that just happens to be nutritious. As a variation for kids, you can add in handfuls of fresh spinach to mix in with the basil.

Toddlers can even help with this recipe by stirring in the cheeses and butter at the end of the recipe. They can go to the garden and help you pick basil, wash it and pat it dry. The more you involve them in the process, the more they will enjoy good food and the dinner table.

I’ve made so many of Marcella Hazan’s recipes and you read about my experience cooking through her book here. I’ve also made a seven-herb walnut pesto which you can find here that would also be great on the pasta of your choice, or on toast points.

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Cooking Italy - Spaghetti and Pesto, Green Beans, Potatoes

A classic Pesto sauce with pasta adapted from Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking, Marcella Hazan

Servings 6

Ingredients

• Ingredients for Pesto
• For the Processor
• 2 cups tightly packed fresh picked basil leaves
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoon pine nuts toasted
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped before processing
• Salt
• For completion by hand
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoon freshly grated romano cheese
• 3 tablespoon butter
• Ingredients for Complete Dish
• Pesto Sauce
• 1 1/2 pounds pasta
• 3 small potatoes
• 3 tablespoons pasta water

Instructions

• Wash basil and pat with paper towels. Process ingredients for processor until you have a creamy consistency. Add in the rest of the ingredients by hand, first adding in all cheese until it is really smooth. Then add butter in at the end.
• For assembly
• /2 pounds pasta (I used one pound in spaghetti and 1 1/2 with fusilli)
• small new potatoes, boiled in skin, skin removed afterward, thinly sliced
• /2 pound young green beans, ends snapped, cut half (depending on size)
• Save a few Tablespoons of pasta water to add into pesto
• Toss pesto with cooked pasta, beans, and potatoes. Add in pasta water as needed. Serve immediately. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The post Spaghetti and Pesto, Green Beans, Potatoes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.