mandilli di sæa con pesto
for 6
Ligurian Basic Pasta (see here)
200 g fine green beans, tailed
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
25 g butter
extra virgin olive oil
freshly grated Parmesan
pesto
2 handfuls of fresh basil, washed and dried
2 small garlic cloves, peeled
10 g pine kernels
30 g Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated
20 g Parmesan, finely grated
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
Make the pesto. Crush 1 teaspoon of salt and some of the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar. Add the garlic and then more basil leaves, a few at a time. Add the pine kernels, and crush until it becomes smooth. Remove to a bowl, and fold in the cheeses. Pour in the extra virgin olive oil slowly, mixing, until the sauce has a thick but creamy consistency.
For the pasta, follow the instructions for rolling out the dough here, but keep rolling the dough until it is as fine as possible, almost transparent! Cut into rectangular shapes about 12 cm long and 5 cm wide.
Cook the beans in boiling salted water until very tender. Drain, retaining some of the water. Return the beans to the pan and stir in the butter. Add a small amount of cooking water to the pesto, then stir 1 tablespoon of pesto into the beans. In a separate large saucepan, bring plenty of salted water to the boil, then cook a few pasta sheets at a time. They will take only 30–60 seconds. To serve, place a small amount of pesto on each plate, arrange the pasta on top, and spread a further tablespoon of pesto over the pasta. Scatter over the beans, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.