Pasta with pesto, potatoes and green beans

I always knew I liked pesto, but don’t believe I’d ever actually made it myself (not sure why!). Now that I have, I think I’d be more accurate to say I love it. And I was also in love with this dish, since it combined my two favorite starches with crisp-tender green (actually yellow) beans. Since my beans were yellow, there wasn’t much color in the finished product, but its interest was definitely heightened by the cool spiral-shaped whole wheat radiatore I got at an international farmer’s market. You could use any short pasta, though, of course. The pesto in the dish was reserved from the batch I made the other night to use in the tomato tart. I’m all about making cooking prep easy. Since it didn’t have Parmesan cheese in it like most pestos do, I added some to the finished dish.

Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans, adapted from Great Food Fast

3 small potatoes, mix of yellow and red, peeled if not organic
Salt and pepper
8 oz. short pasta
8 oz. green beans, trimmed and halved
1/2 cup pesto
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, if missing from pesto

Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes; place in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; return to a boil and cook until pasta is al dente, according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, steam green beans until crisp-tender, 8-10 minutes in steamer basket over simmering water.
Drain potatoes and pasta when done. Mix in beans. Toss with pesto and cheese; season with salt and pepper.