BEST EVER PESTO & POTATO PASTA

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Best ever pesto & potato pasta image

A child-friendly take on pasta alla genovese. Kids can help make the green sauce and toss the whole mix together

Provided by Barney Desmazery

Categories     Main course

Time 31m

Number Of Ingredients 8

150g green bean
300g new potato
300g short dried pasta like fusilli or a long pasta like linguine
large bunch basil
50g pine nuts
50g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated, plus extra to serve (optional)
2 garlic cloves
100ml olive oil

Steps:

  • KIDS: the writing in bold is for you. GROWN-UPS: the rest is for you. Pick the basil for the pesto. Get your child to pick the basil leaves off the stalks. Ask them to look at and smell the leaves as you tell them the name of the herb until they remember it - try to do this with all herbs when you can.
  • Make the pesto. Toast the pine nuts in a pan over a low heat. A child of seven years plus can stir the nuts in the pan. Tip into a mini chopper (or use a pestle and mortar) with the basil, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. Blitz or pound into a green sauce, then set aside.
  • Chop up the beans. Using a child-friendly knife, get children from the age of five to chop the green beans into shorter lengths, and quarter the potatoes. Younger children can snap the beans into short lengths while you prepare the potatoes.
  • Cook the vegetables and pasta. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the potatoes and boil for 3 mins. Remove from the heat and ask the child to tip in the pasta and give it a stir. Put the pan back on the heat, boil the pasta for 5 mins, add the beans and cook for a final 3 mins.
  • Mix everything together. Drain everything well and tip into a bowl. Spoon most of the pesto into the pasta and stir everything together to coat. Bring the large bowl of pasta to the table and serve with extra parmesan, more basil and remaining pesto, if you like.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 540 calories, Fat 34 grams fat, SaturatedFat 6 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 46 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 2 grams sugar, Fiber 4 grams fiber, Protein 12 grams protein, Sodium 0.2 milligram of sodium

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