Pesto, Potatoes, Green Beans

An Italian classic: spaghetti with pesto, green beans, and thinly sliced potatoes.

Whenever we have this dish, I always think of one of my all-time favorite movies, The Big Night. A woman has ordered risotto...

Woman: I just don't see anything that looks like a shrimp or a scallop, but I get a side order of spaghetti with this, right?

Secondo: Well, no.

Husband: I thought all main courses come with spaghetti.

Secondo: Well, some, yes. But you see, risotto is rice, so it is a starch and it doesn't go, really, with pasta.

Woman: But I don't...

Husband: Honey, honey, order a side of spaghetti, that's all. And I'll eat your meatballs.

Woman: Yeah, he'll have the meatballs.

Secondo: Well, the spaghetti comes without meatballs.

Woman: There are no meatballs with the spaghetti?

Secondo: No. Sometimes spaghetti likes to be alone.

Secondo goes to the kitchen

Primo: Why?

Secondo: She likes starch. I don't know. Come on.

Primo: How can she want... maybe I should make mashed potatoes for on the other side.

Secondo: Primo, look, don't, okay, because they are the first customer to come in two hours.

Primo: No. She's a criminal. I want to talk to her.

You would think that the potatoes would just lead to starch overload in this dish. But they don't. They add a nice layer of texture, and when you get a bite with pasta, green bean, and potato, there's really not much better.

And the great thing about this dish was that the basil came from our garden (which, after some much needed maintenance, has recovered somewhat), the potatoes from Farmers @ Firehouse, and the green beans from the farm.