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linguine con pesto di olive, tonno e fagioli

linguine with green olive pesto, tuna and green beans

This is one of the trickier pesto recipes to get right, in terms of taste. The problem is the bitterness of the olives that you choose, and how you manage to balance that (or not!) with the other ingredients. I based my green olive pesto on an ancient ancestor of Pesto Genovese, Agliata, and then tried to arrive at a kind of 'tuna niçoise' on pasta. Agliata is a simple pesto of bread, garlic, vinager and oil. This pesto recipe therefore has a grainy, breadcrumby texture to it that sets it apart from others.


WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)

  • prepare the ingredients

  • chop olives

  • chop and fry chilli

  • blend some bread for breadcrumbs

  • crush the pistacchio kernels

  • begin cycling through ingredients, blending

  • boil the beans

  • boil the pasta

  • combine pesto and pasta

  • add beans

  • garnish


linguine with green olive pesto, tuna and green beans

INGREDIENTS

FOR FOUR PEOPLE

  • 200g (7oz) fine green beans

  • 1 tin tuna in olive oil (approx 300g/10.5oz)

PESTO

  • 1 large handful stuffed green olives

  • 2 tblspns pinoli

  • 2 tblspns flaked almonds

  • 2 handfuls basil leaves

  • 1 large handful ciabatta breadcrumbs

  • EVO

  • pecorino


PASTA

400g (14oz) dry linguine


MANTECATURA (?)

none



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METHOD

Use either fresh or slightly stale ciabatta or focaccia and pulse it in a blender until you’ve got uniform breadcrumbs. The size is up to you. Set the breadcrumbs aside and then prepare some ground pistacchio kernels, which you’ll later use to garnish each portion. Begin making the pesto by cycling the ingredients (olives, pinoli, almonds, basil, breadcrumbs, cheese and oil), adding each of the ingredients to the mix one by one, pulsing them in a blender, adding oil and tasting. Repeat the process and ask yourself if the balance of flavours is OK for you, and if not add more of what you feel is missing.


Slice and fry gently a green jalapeno chilli. Don’t let it burn or colour at all, just soften it up. Set it aside and boil the fine green beans until they’re pretty well done but still not losing their green colour and going khaki - don’t leave them too crunchy. Set them aside. Cook the pasta to just before perfectly cooked, drain and combine with the pesto in the normal way (see the Cooking with Pesto page in the Technique section). Add the beans and the flaked tuna at the last minute, then plate each portion with a sprinkle of pistacchio nuts and a few slivers of jalapeño pepper and perhaps a few drops of lemon juice. For a stronger, fresher kick, grate a small amount of lemon zest onto each portion too.

NUTRITION per serving

  • KCAL: we're working on it!

  • Fat (g): TBC

  • Sat Fat (g): TBC

  • Carb (g): TBC

  • Sug (g): TBC

  • Fibre(g): TBC

  • Prot (g): TBC

  • Salt (g): TBc

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